GutterClear fights back against Metal Thefts!

GutterClear has teamed up with Smartwater to fight metal thefts from church roofs, which has reached epidemic proportions over the last few years.

Parishes in the Diocese have made claims for £100,000 worth of stolen metal in the last insurance year, but since October 2008, cover is now limited to £5,000 per church in any one scheme year, leaving your parish to meet anything above this.

The Good News: Smartwater

Smartwater indelibly marks metal or any other materials it is applied to, and the source is then registered. Scrap processors now routinely scan incoming materials to detect Smartwater and police can then positively identify material as coming from a particular place. Arrests and convictions are rising.

In 2008, Ecclesiastical Insurance sent out small starter packs of Smartwater to parishes, but most parishes have not yet applied the product, or registered it, without which it can't be used to fight the thieves.

Get GutterClear to apply Smartwater to your Church

Now, GutterClear can supply the access and manpower parishes may need to apply the Smartwater. All GutterClear contractors have been trained to apply it.

So combining a visit from GutterClear with the application of SmartWater ensures correct application for a modest extra cost.

The small starter packs sent out in 2008 are in most cases insufficient to mark roof metal, so you will need to obtain a new supply in a larger pack.

Smartwater is not cheap, but please do not be tempted to economise by sharing it with other local churches. It is vital that each church obtains and registers its own individual pack of SmartWater, so that there is no risk of a prosecution failing because of any ambiguity of evidence.

You have to tell would-be thieves that you have applied Smartwater, so you can buy notices to fix in strategic places. The evidence is that the thieves will go elsewhere.

So – we urge you to take action now. Apply Smartwater. If you can’t do it, GutterClear's accredited contractors can!

For more information see the Smartwater web site.