Around 20 tonnes of metal was taken from the 14th century All Saints Church in Houghton Conquest, Bedfordshire.

The theft was discovered on Tuesday when one of the cleaners noticed daylight coming through the roof.

Gary Mudd, chairman of the church council, posted photographs online showing the damage done to the Grade I listed building.

It is feared that the cost of replacing the lead could be as high as £100,000.

His wife Helen Mudd, also a church member, said: “It’s just sheer greed isn’t it?

“The cost of the repair is going to be absolutely astronomic.

“It’s a Grade I listed building so we have to use like-for-like materials and whatever we repair it with, it’s not going to be cheap.

“Fundraising just can’t keep up with the demands of a building like that.

“It’s an historical building and it’s wanted and loved by the community, whether they’re religious or not.

“A small community like this isn’t going to be able to raise the funds in five minutes.”

Police said the thieves may have posed as workmen and carried out the theft over a “prolonged period of time”.

Inspector Nick Masters described the theft as “audacious” and asked any residents with CCTV to check their footage.

“We suspect the people responsible may have been going backwards and forwards to the church for a prolonged period of time,” he added.

“Due to the sheer quantity of lead taken, it’s unlikely that it…

Staff say the 58 year old, who was found at a residential site north of Carlisle during an early morning raid on Wednesday, underwent a “horrendous ordeal”.

Kathy Betteridge, the director of anti-trafficking and modern slavery from the Christian movement, said: “This is a truly horrific and shocking case.

“We will work to provide hope for this man.”

The individual will be offered support such as safe accommodation and counselling – in addition to financial, medical and legal support.

The potential modern slavery victim received a medical examination following the shed search by officers at the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA).

The GLAA said: “The operation has been supported by specialist officers from the National Crime Agency, the Cumbria Housing Department who are investigating possible health and safety breaches, and officers from Cumbria Police.”

An investigation is underway. A 79 year old man has been arrested on suspicion of modern slavery offences.

The GLAA added: “Modern slavery exists in a whole range of forms across the UK.

“If you suspect someone is being exploited or abused, please do not hesitate to get in contact with us.

“Your call could be the difference between exploitation continuing and worsening or a victim being rescued and given the support that they desperately need.”

You can report on…

Daniel C Dennett, a professor of philosophy at Tufts University, USA and leading naturalist voice in the philosophy of mind, has suggested that in the future humans could gain an immortal soul and be able to upload information from our minds to a digital format, similar to the storylines of popular Netflix series, Black Mirror which envisaged human minds being uploaded to computer systems where they can live forever in ‘digital heaven’.

The debate, released today, focuses on whether atheistic naturalism or Christian theism better explains the unique mysteries and questions that human consciousness will pose.

It has been released as part of The Big Conversation series and hosted by Premier Christian Radio presenter, Justin Brierley.

The debate pitched Dennett, who has authored books such as ‘Breaking the Spell: Religion As A Natural Phenomenon’ against Keith Ward, British philosopher and former Regius Professor of Divinity at Oxford University who is also an ordained priest in the Church of England.

Dennett argues: “One of the things we know about robots that makes them profoundly unlike moral agents, is that they are potentially immortal because you can download all the software, back them up and reboot them.

“If the information in my brain were perfectly encoded, and this brain [I have currently] died, it could be uploaded in digital format and I…

The event – named after the James Bond tale about a secret Russian crime organisation – is promoted by posters emblazoned with the country’s flag and a big love heart.

Featuring classical music from Russian composers, the performance takes place in St Martin’s Church, Salisbury, on 13th October – just months after the city was struck by the nerve agent attack.

The concert will be held less than two miles from the home of ex-spy Sergei Skripal and not far from the bench where he and his daughter Yulia collapsed in March.

A poster advertising the event was found on Thursday displayed in a car park just metres from Salisbury Cathedral – the spire of which suspects Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov famously praised while denying any involvement in the attack. During a television interview they instead claimed they were tourists.

Gill Bolton, one of the organisers and performers, said she was “not best pleased” with the poster design, admitting it was a bit “off putting” but that no-one had complained.

She said the programme of concerts for the forthcoming season was planned about a year in advance and was not in response to recent events, adding: “It’s not really anything to do with the Skripals and that sort of thing.”

The design was created by someone who did not live in the area but who took inspiration from the James…

The Avon and Somerset force has conceded Dale McAlpine did nothing wrong and he should not have been told to move on.

Sergeant Jonathan Raisey said: “Instead of dispersing your group, I would have expected that my officers would have remained at the location to protect the right of your client’s group to free speech.”

Mr McAlpine and a group of other evangelists were telling people in central Bath about Jesus Christ on 25th June 2018 when they encountered angry members of the public.

Arriving on the scene in two police cars with blue lights flashing, officers issued a dispersal notice which forced the group to leave the area. One claimed the preachers were committing a “hate crime”.

With the support of the Christian Institute campaign group, Mr McAlpine mounted a complaint which has now prompted the apology.

Director of the Institute, Colin Hart said: “We don’t want dispersal notices to be similarly misused. Vigilance is needed.

“Avon and Somerset Police’s response to the complaint underlines the freedom of Christians to preach about Jesus on our streets.”

The force says all police staff have been contacted “to ensure that they understand the importance of freedom of expression”.

Colin Hart from the Christian Institute added: “Christians have the freedom to preach on the streets.

“That right was hard won down the…