Thieves are targeting British churches, taking copper lightning rods, lead rain pipes, bronze statues, iron gates, even church bells and entire roofs.

Germany's two largest churches are shrinking, but the Evangelical Church in Germany, the country's biggest Protestant grouping, has dropped below 25 million members for the first time since the unification of Germany in 1990

The southwest of England has seen an increased spate of thefts of church bells and equipment, irrigation pipes from schools and other scrap metal from business and domestic property in recent weeks.

While some African national leaders continued to court Robert Mugabe at an African Union meeting in Egypt, despite their own observers saying that the presidential election was unacceptable, South African churches have spoken candidly.