A 73-YEAR-OLD man was assaulted after he stopped two youths from stealing the lead from the roof of a church in Tackley.

At 3pm on Saturday, the man spotted the youths trying to remove lead from St Nicholas's Church. He confronted them, but they responded by hitting him in the head with a lump of wood.

It is believed the pair left in an older model, white, hatchback Volkswagen Golf or Polo. The elderly man was taken to hospital with bruising to the back of his head, but was discharged.

The first youth, who was responsible for the assault, is in his late teens, 5ft 10in tall and medium build. He was wearing a dark blue beanie hat, a dark blue anorak and dark coloured tracksuit bottoms.

The second youth, also in his late teens, is 5ft 7in tall, chubby and was wearing a blue anorak and tracksuit bottoms.

PC Lee Forrest said: "This type of attack would have been nasty whatever the circumstances, but that it was on an elderly man outside a church makes this particularly distasteful.

"I am hoping that someone in Tackley may have seen something on Saturday afternoon - perhaps these youths hanging around or this old white car. If you did, please get in touch and help us catch these violent thieves.

"Nationally we are seeing an increase in metal thefts and it is important for local residents to keep their eye on buildings in their neighbourhood - look out for any unexpected building-type work going on.

"But I would recommend that if you do see something suspicious, please don't try and tackle them yourself and call the police immediately."

PC Forrest can be contacted via the Police Enquiry Centre on 0845 8 505 505.

If you don't want to talk to police and don't want to leave your name, call the Crimestoppers charity anonymously on 0800 555 111.