Bridges Community Centre in Monmouth, which is one of the most popular centres of its kind in the county, has suffered two major thefts, when all accessible lead has been stripped from the roof. The first incident took place in the early hours of Tuesday, May 27, when the criminals were probably disturbed. They came back on the night of Wednesday, June 18 and did a more thorough job, leaving areas of the building badly exposed after they had taken a large quantity of lead. It is estimated the repair of the damaged roof will run into thousands of pounds. Mark Walton, the Centre Director commented, "These thefts are particularly upsetting when so much effort here goes into fundraising to help maintain this very important historic building in which so many community activities take place. "We have been informed that this is a standard uninsured loss and will not be covered within the terms of our current insurance policy which has serious financial implications for us. "We are in the process of making temporary repairs and cannot afford to replace the lead at present. The police have offered to make extra patrols in the area and we are also investigating the cost of installing CCTV cameras" said Mr Walton. He added: "However, all this will put an extra strain on our already over stretched budget. We would appeal to anyone in the area who might have seen any suspicious goings on in the vicinity to contact the police with any information." A police spokesman told The Beacon that the thefts were being investigated and he appealed to anyone with information which could help trap those responsible to contact the police.

Lesley Jenkins, chair of the Bridges Fundraising Committee, wrote to The Beacon, expressing her anger at the thefts: " On Saturday 14th June the Bridges Community Centre held a most successful Cabaret Evening with grateful thanks to Monmouth's Big Band and Dick Brice both giving their time and talents without charge. " A great evening, raising over £800 for funds to support the continuing upkeep of Bridges – Monmouth's independent charity. " Sadly, however, this does not begin to cover the second theft of lead from the roof in a fortnight. Thieves struck again this week removing a large quantity of lead from the main roof. " We now have to replace the lead and also repair the damage caused by the downpour of rain on Wednesday. My feelings are unprintable".