Bridlington Central and Old Town

Crime Update


Four men have been jailed for a combined 22 years 7 months for the theft of lead from churches across the country, including six in our region.
 
The four defendants stripped tonnes of lead from Grade 1 and Grade 2 churches between May 2018 and March 2020 - costing 36 churches across the country total of almost £2.1m. The amount the defendants would have made from scrapping the lead would have been much lower than the cost to the churches.
 
All four men have previously pleaded guilty to a total of 36 offences and on Wednesday 6 January 2021 were sentenced at Lincoln Crown Court.
 
Constantin Motescu, 32, of Stebbings, Sutton Hill, Telford, admitted 23 charges of theft.
Paul Buica, 25, of George Street, Birmingham, admitted 16 thefts.
Mihai Birtu, 24, of Port Street, Evesham, admitted 14 thefts.
Laurentiu Sucea, 38, of George Street, Birmingham, admitted 13 thefts. The offences occurred between May 2018 and March 2020.
 
Motescu and Sucea were each jailed for six and a half years. Buica was jailed for six years. Birtu was jailed for three years and seven months.
 
Humberside Police’s own Heritage Crime Officer Rich Fussey said, “This is a really fantastic result and shows how seriously this type of offence is taken. 
 
“The impact the thefts on six of our local churches: St Lawrence Church, Sigglesthorne; St Marys Church, Lockington; St Peters Church, Langtoft; St Peters Church, Wawne; St Peters Church, Hutton and St Johns Church, Harpham, was heart-breaking for the local residents.
 
“The loss to the churches involved in our region and across the country is enormous, not just in the material cost but in the impact on the local communities and congregations.
 
“We supported the investigation which was led by Lincolnshire Police and are happy to share the outcome of their thorough and successful investigations.”
 
Lincolnshire Police’s Detective Chief Inspector Jon Shield, lead the investigation and said, “Working in partnership with other forces and agencies including the Diocese of Lincoln and Historic England, our dedicated Op History team have worked tirelessly to ensure justice is served.
 
“Some of the church congregations are still struggling to find the funds to repair the damage and restore their significant historical buildings which means so much to them as well as the local communities they serve.
 
"The impact of these offences goes well beyond the significant financial cost. Communities have felt a great sense of loss at the damage caused to their heritage, and increased vulnerability due to the rural nature of many of the premises.
“It is still unclear what these defendants spent the money they gained from these thefts on and investigations into this is still ongoing.
 
“Some of the buildings are thousands of years old so these men have potentially destroyed hundreds of years of our heritage.”
 
Historic England
Duncan Wilson, Chief Executive of Historic England said: “The outcome of this case highlights the benefits of collaborative working between the Police, Crown Prosecution Service, church communities and Historic England and is an approach we shall continue to use when dealing with metal theft.
 
“The theft of metal from historic church buildings is a serious and organised crime.
 
"Removing large areas of lead or copper from roofs has not just a serious financial effect on church communities but a huge effect on their morale.”
 
Mark Harrison, Head of Heritage Crime Strategy for Historic England said: “The metal stolen will have historic and cultural value and its removal leads to irreparable damage to protected heritage buildings, which is why tackling this problem is so important.”
 
Churches were targeted across Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Cambridgeshire, Dorset, Wiltshire, Avon and Somerset, Suffolk, Yorkshire, East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.
 
Countrywide the churches targeted:
St Marys Church, Gamlingay, Cambridgeshire
St Stephens Church, Etton, Cambridgeshire
All Saints Church Offord, Cluny, Cambridgeshire
St Denys Goadby, Marwood, Leicestershire
St Nicholas Church, Normanton, Lincolnshire
St Lawrence’s Church, Tallington, Lincolnshire
All Saints Church, Bradley, Derbyshire
St Peters Church, Stourton, Wiltshire
Church of St Mary, Chesterblade, Avon and Somerset
All Saints Church, Poyntington, Dorset
St Andrews Church, Donhead St Andrew, Wiltshire
Church of St James the Great, Bratton, Wiltshire
St Lawrence Church, Sigglesthorne, East Riding of Yorkshire
St Marys Church, Lockington, East Riding of Yorkshire
St Peters Church, Langtoft, East Riding of Yorkshire
Church of St Hilda, Sherburn, N.Yorkshire
St Peters Church, Wawne, East Riding of Yorkshire
All Saints Church, Hartest, Suffolk
St Marys and St Nicholas’s Church, Wrangle, Lincolnshire
St Bartholomew’s Church, Covenham St Bartholomew, Lincolnshires
St Peters Church, Hutton, East Riding of Yorkshire
St Johns Church, Harpham, East Riding of Yorkshire
All Saints Church, Brington, Cambridgeshire
St Andrews Church, Billingborough, Lincolnshire
St Swithins Church, Baumber, Lincolnshire
St Peter's Church, Threekingham, Lincolnshire
St Edwards Church, Goathurst, Avon and Somerset
Holy Cross Church, Middlezoy, Avon and Somerset
St Marys Church, Glastonbury, Avon and Somerset
St Marys Church, Barrington, Avon and Somerset
St Peters Church, Ilton, Avon and Somerset
St Giles Church, Bradford on Tone, Avon and Somerset
St Andrews and St Marys, Pitminster, Avon and Somerset
St John Baptist Church, Wellington, Avon and Somerset
St Peters Church, South Petherton, Avon and Somerset
St Martin’s Church, Cheselbourne, Dorset
 



 
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Drug dealing house closed down


A property on Eleanor Avenue in Bridlington was shut down by local officers today (Thursday 7 January) after successfully obtaining a full closure order at Hull Magistrates Court.

The closure order comes following a successful drugs warrant executed at the property in December. The warrant resulted in three women being arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply drugs and the seizure of drugs, phones and drug paraphernalia. The women have all been released under investigation whilst enquiries continue.

Community Beat Manager, PC Zoe Messenger, said: “We had received a number of reports of people attending the property to deal or buy drugs, drug use taking place inside and various public order situations occurring, often resulting in damage being caused to the council owned property.

“Drug dealing and the anti-social behaviour that comes with it will absolutely not be tolerated in our communities and as seen here, we will not hesitate to take enforcement action such as warrants and closure orders.

“This closure order ensures that the occupants and their visitors can’t return to the property and we will continue to take action against anyone committing these types of offences in order to prevent further harm to our local residents.

“If anyone believes a property is being used to sell drugs, I would encourage you to tell your local team or call our non-emergency number 101 so that we can take appropriate action.”

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