- CCTV shows man at St Augustine’s Church in Edgbaston, Birmingham
- West Midlands Police are investigating the daylight robbery on Monday.
This is the moment a shameless thief breaks into a deserted church and makes off with a Victorian brass eagle worth £6,000.
CCTV footage shows the man walking down the aisle of St Augustine’s Church in Edgbaston, Birmingham, at around 11am on Monday.
The thief removes the heavy lectern from its column before covering it with a blanket and brazenly carrying it out of the church.
Sharing the images on social media, the church said the lectern has been a feature of St. Augustine’s since its consecration in 1868.
West Midlands Police are now investigating the robbery which took just two minutes to carry out in broad daylight.
The man can be seen removing the lectern from the column before covering it with a blanket.
The images show the man removing the bronze eagle, hidden under a blanket, outside the church.
The bronze eagle worth an estimated £6,000 has been in place since the consecration of the church in 1868.
The thief attacked while the church, which is open to the public every day from 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., was momentarily empty.
The Reverend Matthew Tomlinson said: “I must have missed it by about five minutes because I had to jump.”
‘It is very unusual for this to happen on a Monday because normally the church is very busy with people.
“He clearly knew exactly what he was looking for because he walked straight over and even had a blanket with him.”
“He knew it wasn’t attached and he just picked it up and left.”
The robbery occurred in broad daylight on Monday, June 10.
The crime has been reported to West Midlands Police who are investigating.
CCTV captures thief stealing Victorian brass eagle lectern from St Augustine’s Church in Edgbaston.
Rev Tomlinson said the lectern was worth around £6,000 but he was hopeful it would be recovered.
He added: ‘A similar lectern was stolen from a church in the Birmingham area last year but was recovered.
“It seems the thief couldn’t sell it because the merchants knew it had been stolen. We certainly hope to get it back.
‘We all feel a sense of intrusion and that our hospitality has been abused.
‘There have been a series of robberies in churches in the area. Thefts have occurred at night, so it is rare for one to occur during the day.
“The church will remain open.”
A West Midlands Police spokesperson said: “We have been informed of the theft and our investigations are ongoing.”
