£10,000-worth of damage to historic Brighton seafront buildings after lead and copper stolen

The thieves stripped the Madeira Lift and nearby shelters of the materials, leaving them exposed

Part of the Madeira Terrace and the Madeira Lift on the Brighton seafront (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Grade II-listed buildings on the Brighton seafront have sustained more than £10,000 worth of damage after thieves stripped them of lead and copper, police said.

The thieves made off with over 10 tonnes of lead from nearby shelters, which also have Grade II status.

The Madeira Lift, part of the Madeira Terrace which was built in 1890 and restored in 2013, was one of the buildings targeted over the Christmas period.

Copper was stripped from the lift’s roof, which features statues of griffins and a dolphin weather vane.

A local community group dedicated to the preservation of the Madeira Terrace said one of the shelters’ roofs is now in “dangerous condition”.

Sussex Police said: “[The thieves] struck between 11pm on Monday, 23 December and 1.40am on Boxing Day, stripping copper from the roof of the restored Victorian lift linking the A259 Marine Parade and Madeira Drive.

“Police are appealing for anyone who saw anything suspicious or noted suspicious vehicles in the area, particularly if they may have mobile phone or dash-cam footage, to report details online or to call 101, quoting serial 315 of 26/12.”

The Madeira Terrace is an 865-metre long stretch of seafront arches on Madeira Drive in Brighton and is considered the longest cast iron structure in Britain.