STAFF at Oxford furniture shop Habitat got a shock when they discovered thieves had stolen thousands of pounds worth of lead from the roof of their building.

Police said shop workers alerted them after discovering part of the roof had fallen into the store at Seacourt Tower, off West Way.

Thames Valley Police spokes-man Chris Kearney said: “The manager of the store alerted us when staff turned up for work and found that part of the roof had fallen in.

“No-one was hurt, and it appears that six strips of lead have been taken from the roof.

“This is not connected with any other similar thefts and our officers are now investigating.

“No-one knows how the men got on to the roof and we would appeal to members of the public who saw anything suspicious in the area at the time. Those involved may have been carrying ladders.”

The store’s operations manager Chris Hills said the theft was thought to have taken place late on Sunday, or during the early hours of Monday.

He added: “We don’t know the precise value of what was taken, but it will definitely cost thousands and we are now waiting for quotes to replace the materials.

“If you look at the highest point of the building from the outside, you can see straps that have been pulled up and tiles that have been broken so the thieves could get to the lead lining underneath.

“This was totally unexpected and a real shock for staff when they turned up for work.”

Last month, St Mary’s Church in Launton, near Bicester, was left with a bill for £35,000 after the roof was stripped of lead.

The thieves took £40,000-worth of metal, but because of a nationwide rise in lead thefts, insurers would only pay out a maximum of £5,000.

Gardener John Clinkard, 69, from Marcham, near Abingdon, who tidies up flower beds around Seacourt Tower, said: “I believe some staff from Homebase did see a couple of guys running away and I noticed police officers have been here to investigate.

“It was quite a well-planned job because the thieves came here at a time over the Bank Holiday weekend when they knew there wouldn’t be many people around.”

Mr Clinkard, a former landlord of The Plough and the Three Horseshoes pubs in Risinghurst, who retired from the pub trade in 1997, added: “It looks like there has been considerable damage to the roof.”