Pledge to protect history of Peak park

The drive will target not only thieves and vandals who damage ancient monuments, but also property owners who “harm” their own listed buildings.

The Peak District is the first national park authority in the country to sign the national Heritage Crime Enforcement memorandum, a pledge to work jointly with English Heritage, the police and the Crown Prosecution Service to prevent, investigate, prosecute and advise on heritage crime.

More than 2,900 listed buildings are within the boundaries of the national park and its churches in particular have been targeted by metal thieves in the past two years, with lead stolen from historic churches in Hartington, Hathersage, Castleton, Youlgrave and Chelmorton.

Just last month, two men received jail terms for stealing lead from St John the Baptist Church in Chelmorton, while the national park authority also recently prosecuted a householder who put uPVC windows in his listed farmhouse despite “several warnings.”

He was fined £2,600 and ordered to pay £800 costs.

Other heritage crimes include vandalism, arson, graffiti, unauthorised metal detecting and trail-bike riders who “wantonly scramble over archaeological remains.”

Pauline Beswick, the national park’s representative for cultural heritage, said: “By signing the Heritage Crime Enforcement memorandum we strengthen our action to combat these crimes by working together with like-minded organisations in a common cause.

“People may think the loss of a few hundred pounds worth of metal from a church roof isn’t important, but it can destroy centuries-old timber, stone carvings and plaster as water leaks into the building, causing thousands of pounds worth of repairs that churches struggle to pay.”