Alert over thefts of catalytic converters

Thieves have stolen 17 converters in Rotherham alone since the start of the year. Officers said this compared to a total of 17 thefts in the whole of 2011.

Earlier this month North Yorkshire Police also said it had seen an increase in the crime, which is thought to have been prompted by a further increase in the value of the metals used in catalysts.

DS Jamie Henderson, of South Yorkshire Police’s metal theft team, said: “If someone drives without a catalytic converter they’ll hear an excessively loud revving like a racing car. It can also be very dangerous as fumes may start to come into the vehicle.

“A trained technician takes several hours to properly remove a CAT; however we are aware of some thieves that literally take seconds to rip them from vehicles leaving them in particularly dangerous conditions and costing upwards of £1,000 to repair.”

Police said larger vehicles, such as Land Rovers and other 4x4s are particularly vulnerable as the converters are more accessible and because they tend to have larger engines they also contain more of the precious metals.

Earlier this month, police in Selby said they had received 13 reports of such thefts in a five day period, describing the “spike” in the crime as unprecendented.

Both South and North Yorkshire Police are now recommending that owners of vehicles, particularly 4x4s mark the outer casing of their catalytic converters to make it more obvious to scrap dealers when they are stolen.

Both forces said tackling metal theft was a priority and appealed for people with information about such crimes to contact them on the non-emergency number 101 or pass information to Crimestoppers on the national helpline 0800 555 111.