WELSH churches are battling a 325% rise in metal thefts this year with some diocese recording a four-fold increase in insurance claims. Insurers for the Church in Wales said the problem, fuelled by high metal prices on the world market, is the most serious crime epidemic churches have ever faced. Figures from Ecclesiastical, which provides insurance cover to the 900 parishes in the six Welsh Anglican dioceses, show while there were just eight claims for...