Scrap merchants targeted in stolen metals operation

Rising metal prices are proving lucrative for thieves who have been scouring empty houses in regeneration areas and stripping out pipes, phone cables and lead off roofs.

Police were pulling over trucks and other vehicles arriving at scrap metal merchants, along with staff from the Environment Agency, who were checking to see whether the drivers had the correct paperwork for transporting waste.

Another team of officers has also been reminding the city's five scrap metal merchants of their obligations under the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 1964 and are asking them to go "beyond what the law requires" to help police.

Det Sgt Andrew Matchett said: "Metal theft is a big issue nationally, an average of two offenders a month being killed or hurt committing the crime, while whole communities can also be affected when offences at substations cause power cuts, leaving thousands of homes without power."

Det Sgt Matchett said only a tiny amount of the metal which was recycled was stolen and they did not want to portray scrap metal merchants as villains. He added: "We are looking to work with those who will work with us – those who won't we will take a more robust approach."

Part of the problem was charging suspects when it was impossible to prove where the material came from because, for example, the outer casing of a cable had been burned off. They police are in consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service about using alternative legislation to prosecute

In rural areas churches are frequently targeted. Specialist insurer Ecclesiastical says this year is on course for being their second worst on record, with 722 claims for metal thefts worth more than 1.6m in the first five months of the year.