Man Commits Series of Thefts in Churches throughout England
A man has been arrested after stealing from churches since the 1970s. He raided collection boxes in churches in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Kent and Oxfordshire. Between May and August, the man, identified as Mr Coulthard, stole more than £6,000 in cash from at least three churches. Coulthard, 61, was arrested in Radley, Oxfordshire, in September after a member of the public recognised him as the man caught on CCTV stealing from the village church's collection box in June. Following his arrest, Coulthard confessed to being a repeat church burglar and admitted that he had been stealing from churches since the 1970s.
Earlier this summer, a parishioner contacted the Oxford Mail after a man – later identified as Coulthard – was filmed on CCTV sneaking into St James' Church, Radley, on June 24 and picking the lock of a cash collection box.
The court heard that in addition to the Radley theft, Coulthard was responsible for taking cash from St John’s Church, Tadworth, Surrey, between May 27 and June 1, and stole around £600 from All Saints, Oxted, on August 13.
He also burgled St John the Baptist church in Windsor in June 2022, broke into St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School in Guildford on April 6 this year, and stole cash and a key from St Johns Catholic church in Egham on April 28.
On August 23, Coulthard was back in Radley when he was spotted by someone who recognised him as the thief in the CCTV footage from June.
sources: Oxford Mail, Mirror
picture: Oxford Mail, pictures from CCTV footage of Clouthard stealing from Radley church