POLICE investigating the attempted theft of historic stone from a church in Warrington have released images of a man they would like to speak to.
At some time between 4am and 7am on Tuesday 28 May, an unknown number of people accessed the church ground of St Elphin’s on Church Street, Warrington.
It is believed that the suspects filled a wheelie bin, that had been taken from outside of an address on St Katherines Way, with historic stone from around the church yard.
Both the bin and the stone were recovered, but officers are now appealing to anyone with any information in relation to the incident to come forward.
As part of their enquires, officers have now released a CCTV image of a man who they believe holds vital information in connection to the incident.
Police Constable Jonathan Lightfoot, of the Rural Crime Team, said: “Churches are quite often targeted by offenders due to their vulnerabilities and it being seen that stealing from them is a victimless crime – this could not be further from the truth.
“Stealing from our heritage sites is a crime against us all. We treat this very seriously in Cheshire and will follow all evidence to track down the suspects.
“As part of our investigation into this incident, we would like to speak to the man pictured – we believe he holds vital information. Anyone who recognises him is asked to contact Cheshire Police. I would also encourage the man pictured to get in touch.”
Anyone with any information in relation to the incident is asked to contact Cheshire Police via the website, quoting incident number 26000422049.
