Theft of lead from roof causes nursery closure

The theft of lead from a nursery roof has caused £30,000 worth of damage and forced it to close for five weeks.
Lead is a valuable material and is regularly stolen from roofs and soldLead is a valuable material and is regularly stolen from roofs and sold
Lead is a valuable material and is regularly stolen from roofs and sold

Falkirk Council say the material was stolen from the roof of the town’s Queen Street Nursery School some time this month.

The theft caused water to penetrate into the building’s interior plasterwork of the ceilings and following a careful inspection, the decision was taken to close it for safety reasons and to enable repair work to be carried out.

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In the meantime, the children who attend the nursery will be offered temporary places at other facilities, causing disruption to parents.

The nursery provides daily places for 16 two-year-olds and 35 for three to five-year-old children.

A council spokesperson said: “The recent theft of lead roofing from Queen Street nursery will undoubtedly cause disruption to parents, staff and children who use this popular facility.

“We expect the building to be out of operation for around five weeks while the work to repair and make safe the ceiling and roof is completed.

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“We are liaising with our Insurers and the contractor to progress these works as quickly as possible which we estimate will cost around £30,000.

“We are discussing the individual needs of children with parents and we will be offering temporary places at other locations. We’d urge anyone with any knowledge of this incident to contact Police Scotland.”

It is the second report of lead theft in the district this month after some time between Thursday and Sunday, January 12 and 15 from the roof of Laurieston Parish Church in Polmont Road.

Police Scotland say the thieves gained access to the roof via scaffolding that had been put up as part of ongoing repair work at the place of worship.

Police are appealing for witnesses or anyone with information in connection with the crime to call them on 101, or Contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.