A SPATE of thefts has seen homes in Blundson St Andrew stripped of the lead on their porches overnight.

Christine Stokes was one of many Redhouse residents who woke up on Monday morning to find that a chunk of lead had been taken from the front porch.

She said: “Massive strips of lead have been ripped off quite a few of the houses and we don’t have CCTV so we don’t know who did it.

“It’s not every house, which is weird, they seem to have chosen houses where they thought no-one was in or the lead was easier to take.

“This is such a quiet road and we never hear of anybody having any trouble.

“I’ve painted over the missing lead until I can replace it, I only need a little bit but I’ll probably have to buy a whole roll.

“Normally lead is taken from big buildings or school roofs, not just a bit from a few houses.”

When a reporter visited the street on Monday, at least six other houses had suffered the same fate.

Fellow resident Paul lives on the same street as Christine and was surprised to see that the 5ft-by-1ft grey flashing above his front door had disappeared.

He said: “I went away on Friday night and it was definitely fine, then I came back on Sunday night but it was dark so I didn’t see if it was still there.

“On Monday I went outside and noticed some plaster on the floor, so I looked up and it was gone.

“I was shocked, I’ve been here seven years and this is the first time anything like this has happened, it’s strange.

“How can someone come along here and do this without anyone seeing or hearing anything?

“I thought there had been a storm or something while I was away but wind isn’t strong enough to rip it off from the wall.

“I didn’t even know there was lead underneath there and I don’t understand why only some houses were targeted.”

A spokesperson for Wiltshire Police said: “We have received a report of the theft of lead flashing from a porch at a home in Dunvant Road.

“The incident is believed to have happened between 10pm on Sunday October 8 and 9am on Monday October 9.

“Anyone with information should call police on 101.”