Lead has been stolen due to soaring metal prices

Ubbink, which makes Ubiflex, a non-lead flashing used in roofing, said it has seen huge demand in the past few months and is struggling to keep up.

The Brackley-based firm said applications from listed churches were being fast-tracked to replace lead.

English Heritage said it encouraged churches to replace "like-for-like".

In a statement, English Heritage said soaring prices of metals around the world had seen the number of thefts of lead and copper from churches rise.

"If metal is stolen from a church, English Heritage would encourage the church to consider the environmental and conservation benefits of replacing it on a like-for-like basis before considering alternative metals," English Heritage stated.

Lead crackdown

Church insurers, Ecclesiastical, said: "As of the end of September 2007 we have received more than 1,348 claims for the year, at an estimated total cost of almost �4.4m for Anglican churches alone, but schools and heritage properties are also being targeted."

Sheffield, Nottingham and Manchester were the worst-hit areas of the country, suffering more than 400 claims between them in 2007.

Cambridgeshire police launched a crackdown on lead thefts last month with metal theft up 170% in a year.

In the diocese of Ely alone, damage valued at more than �1m has been caused to church buildings in a year.

Anglican churches across East Anglia have made 270 insurance claims following lead thefts in the past year, with the Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich, Suffolk, making 18 claims totalling �90,000; and Chelmsford, Essex, making 66 claims totalling �130,000.