A MAN HAS been arrested and charged in relation to five theft incidents at four churches in Co Cork and Co Waterford.

The matter was reported to Gardaí in Midleton and upon reviewing CCTV footage, a man was seen fishing out envelopes from the church donation box.

As part of the investigation, Gardaí attached to the Midleton Detective Unit carried out a surveillance operation on 25 January at a church in Carrigtwohill, Co Cork.

When Gardaí went to arrest the man, he fled the scene in a car and travelled on the N25.

Gardaí pursued from a safe distance until eventually the man stopped the car near the Jack Lynch Tunnel. Upon searching the man and the car, Gardaí found a wire hook similar to the one seen in the CCTV footage.

The man, aged in his 50s, was arrested and brought to Cobh Garda Station. He was detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984 and has since been charged.

The dates and location of each of the five theft incidents are:

• Carrigtwohill on 23 and 24 January
• Cloyne on 23 January
• Dungarvan on 15 January
• Shanagarry on 21 November

The man was due to appear before Mallow District Court this morning at 10.30am.