the slate clean

THIEVES have been stealing ladders from a Winsford resident so that they can use them to remove slates from the roof of a nearby building.

Tony Deyn, chairman of Wharton Parish Residents' Association, has been targeted by the criminals who use his ladders to steal slates from the old Wharton Primary School building, on School Road.

There have been three separate incidents of the slate theft since Easter and Mr Deyn is now calling for police to take action.

He said: "They are arriving in the middle of the night and taking the slates without anybody noticing.

"The building is derelict but it is still theft and needs to be stopped."

The building is owned by Hankinsons and is set to be redeveloped but until then Mr Deyn wants the crime associated with it to be dealt with.

He said: "This has happened three times now so it is quite a serious situation. The thieves have got an operation going where one of them must be going on to the roof and passing them down to someone else."

As chairman of Wharton Parish Residents' Association, Mr Deyn has received a lot of feedback from people living nearby who are worried about the situation. He said: "We had a committee meeting and decided to do something about it. This is a problem because people are just coming and helping themselves."

Lighting is one of the major concerns of residents who feel offenders will continue to get away with their crimes under the cover of darkness.

Mr Deyn said: "There is no lighting round there so I can't see them.

"I feel terrible because they are my ladders that they are using to steal the slates which I presume they are selling on."