Silver taken from St. Mary's church in Ramsey, was later returned

The Bishop of Ely Dr Anthony Russell has highlighted the losses to the county's churches.

He said that over the last two months more than 30 churches had been targeted by thieves wanting to steal the lead from their roofs.

A typical haul can be worth up to �3,000 but repairs can cost �60,000.

A spokesman for the Diocese of Ely said: "With some prices on the metal market trebling in the past twelve months, criminals have been quick to seize the opportunity by stealing lead from church roofs.

We are calling on people to be extra vigilant and encourage church leaders, parishioners and the congregation to keep an eye on their church The Bishop of Ely Dr Anthony Russell

"Both the number and severity of burglaries and thefts has increased dramatically in the past two months.

"Churches close to the A14 seem to be particularly vulnerable."

In one burglary in May this year medieval tankards and a 15th Century helmet were stolen from St Mary's Church in Hardwick, Cambridgeshire.

While in July, an anonymous man returned silverware taken from St. Mary's church in Ramsey, Cambridgeshire, in June.

Dr Russell in a letter to the chief constable of Cambridgeshire, Julie Spence, said: "We are calling on people to be extra vigilant and encourage church leaders, parishioners and the congregation to keep an eye on their church, to remove all items of value and consider improvements to security.

"We appeal to everyone to be on the look-out and make a note of anything suspicious, taking special care to record vehicle index numbers and descriptions of people, and report this to the police."