A CHURCH organ wrecked by lead thieves will fill the hall with sound once more after funds were secured to repair it.

The 150-year-old fixture at Holy Cross Church, Chiseldon, will be rebuilt after insurers agreed to pay £5,000.

A further £1,000 will be met by donations. The instrument survived both world wars and a previous occasion when it had to be rebuilt, but was left unusable when 90 per cent of the lead was stripped from the vestry roof before Christmas.

Insurers have since confirmed that they will meet the bulk of the bill under a clause which covers damage as a consequence of lead theft.

The organ, which has provided the backdrop to numerous baptisms, marriages and funerals, was installed in commemoration of Catherine Stone, who is believed to have been a member of the congregation.

It was previously rebuilt four years ago, after thieves stripped lead from the vestry roof in a similar incident. Warden Colin Wilkins said: “The organ will be stripped down and completely rebuilt shortly after Easter.

“It will be a great relief to get it back as we had been relying on a CD system, which is not very satisfactory. It was better than nothing but it will be great to have the organ back in use.”

Holy Cross, which has been plundered six times since 2010, has also become the latest church to fit security measures to stop thieves plundering lead and other metals.

“The latest attack was before Christmas, when more lead was taken, but we have put a security system in place and have had nothing more since,” said Mr Wilkins. “At first we had security on the north side, so the south side was targeted, but now it covers the whole church.

“It’s quite a high-tech system including lights and voice recorders.”

St Peter’s Church in Penhill has also fitted a security system, which uses infra-red sensors to monitor access points to the roof, to deter thieves who have struck several times in the past two years.

Mr Wilkins said: “All churches should be thinking along those lines. The Wiltshire Historic Churches Trust will give a grant of £200 for any security system being installed in a church, which has been provided to us.

“We certainly feel a bit more secure now the system is in place.”

The Chuch of England has reported that metal theft cost it £10m last year, with 10 churches a day being targeted.

Mr Wilkins said: “I’m not surprised at the situation nationally at present. It’s not just churches, although they are the main concern. Whether the new measures affecting scrap metal dealers have any effectiveness we’ll have to wait and see.”