A shameless thief was caught on CCTV stealing a brass eagle lectern worth £6,000 from a church.<br /><br />Footage shows the man walk up the aisle of St Augustine’s Church in Edgbaston, in Birmingham, at around 11am on Monday (10/6).<br /><br />The crook draped a blanket over the heavy brass lectern before brazenly carrying it out of the church.<br /><br />West Midlands Police are investigating the theft which took just two minutes to <br />commit in broad daylight.<br /><br />The lectern is thought to date back to 1868 which is when the church officially opened.<br /><br />The thief struck while the church – which is open to the public from 8.30am to 6pm every day – was momentarily empty.<br /><br />The Reverend Matthew Tomlinson said: “I must have missed him by about five minutes because I had to pop out.<br /><br />“It is very unusual for this to happen on a Monday because usually the church is very busy with people.<br /><br />“He clearly knew exactly what he was after because he walked straight up to it and even had a blanket with him.<br /><br />“He knew it wasn’t attached and simply picked it up and walked out.”<br /><br />Rev Tomlinson said the lectern was worth around £6,000 but was hopeful it would be recovered.<br /><br />He added: “A similar lectern was stolen from a church in the Birmingham area last year but it was recovered.<br /><br />“It appears the thief couldn’t sell it on because dealers knew it was stolen. We certainly hope we will get it back.<br /><br />“We all feel a sense of intrusion and that our hospitality has been abused. <br /><br />“There has been a spate of thefts from church in the area. The break ins have happened at night so it is rare for one to happen in the day time.<br /><br />“The church will continue to be opened.”<br /><br />A West Midlands Police spokesperson said: “The theft has been reported to us and our enquiries are on-going.”
