TWO thieves could face prison for stealing lead from a 151-year-old building.

Reece Marchbank, 18, of Ruskin Avenue, Southend and Nathanial Gill, 20, of no fixed address, admitted removing the lead from the roof of the Masonic Hall in South Street, Rochford.

Southend magistrates were told a neighbour spotted two men on the roof of the hall on May 12, this year, moving a heavy object.

Police were called and recovered lead hidden in an overgrown area nearby and arrested three men.

Marchbank and Gill pleaded guilty to stealing the metal, worth about £500, at a hearing on August 25. They appeared before Southend magistrates yesterday for sentencing where they were warned custody was an option. The hearing was adjourned for pre-sentence reports.

In a separate hearing on September 6, David Cadge, 18, of Ulting Way, Wickford, admitted stealing lead and was sentenced to three months in prison, suspended for 18 months, a supervision order and 150 hours of unpaid work.

Derek Childs, secretary of the Masonic lodge, said the building has been targeted five times since April by lead thieves.

He said: “It has cost us a lot of money and a lot of it isn’t covered by insurance. I paid a bill Friday for £50,000 for the work inside because the water got in the ceiling and, being an old building, it all had to come down.”

Marchbank and Gill will appear again at Southend Magistrates’ Court on October 26 for sentencing.