Church roof theft reports in Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire have doubled as criminal gangs turn their eye increasingly to expensive metals such as lead roofs.

Church authorities have called on the police to provide more protection, noting that replacing the roofs can cost as much as £30,000.

A spokesman for the Church of England in Nottinghamshire said: "In a normal year we might expect no more than 20 of these raids but we have already had 40.

"The theft of the lead is bad enough but the thieves often cause other damage to gutters, roof beams to say nothing of the harm caused when water gets into the body of the church.

"One of the best deterrents is for neighbours to keep an eye on their local church but if it comes to calling the police, we need to know we will get a response and the reports will be followed up."

Detectives have assured local churches that the problem was being taken seriously and that resources were being made available to address the problem.

Det Insp Dave Wood said: "We would like to reassure people who have been the victim of this crime or who are worried about it that we are taking positive action.

"Through crime pattern analysis within Lincolnshire we have identified where these crimes have occurred and the times of these crimes and we are targeting our resources at this."

A senior officer has been appointed by the Nottinghamshire Police to look into metal thefts of all types.