Police crackdown on metal thieves

Police believe the demand for metal in India and China is forcing prices up, with copper now worth £4,000 a tonne, twice as much as two years ago.

British Transport Police, which is leading the task force, told the BBC the theft of rail signalling copper had become its biggest problem after terrorism.

Power lines, statues and school roofs have also been targeted as millions of pounds worth of metal is stolen across the country.

The BBC reports it has obtained figures showing that in Cambridgeshire metal theft is up 170% in a year, in West Mercia 120%, in the West Midlands 112% and 100% in Warwickshire and Sussex.

Deputy Chief Constable Paul Crowther of British Transport Police told the broadcaster "huge money" and "huge disruption" were involved in the theft and sale of scrap metal.

He said: "We have seen an explosion in the number of crimes that have taken place.

"It ranges from the opportunist theft of a few hundred metres of cable to serious large-scale criminality.

"There is only one outlet for this metal to go and we are working with scrap metal dealers and warning them not to accept this stolen property."

Lindsay Millington, director general of the British Metals Recycling Association, told the broadcaster: "We take details from everyone when they bring metal in, but what is certain is that around the corner there is another yard operating, which is not a member of our regulatory system, where no questions are asked."