Congleton: There have been three arrests after the theft of paving stones from St Mary's Church in Astbury.

The historic slabs from the Peel Lane place of worship went missing just over a month ago today.

Today Monday April 4 officers have arrested a 48-year-old man from Oldham on suspicion of theft.

He is currently in police custody for questioning.

His name has not been revealed. No charge has been made as of yet.

The arrest formed part of a joint operation with Cheshire Constabulary's rural crime team, Staffordshire Police, Lancashire Police and Greater Manchester Police (GMP).

Two men, aged 27 and 35, both from Manchester were also arrested on suspicion of theft and have been released under investigation.

Just hours after the incident happened on March 3, Cheshire Police released this statement: "Sometime between midnight and 4am on Thursday 3 March a large number of paving stones had been dug up from the path leading up to the church, causing significant damage to the church grounds."

PC Rob Stordy said at the time: "The damage is such that the path will be out of use for some time and will need a significant amount of funds to repair.

"We would ask people pay particular attention to historic sites such as this when they are out and about, and again report anything suspicious."

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