Shropshire Star

Police in Shropshire today urged the public to help them catch metal thieves by reporting anyone they see on roofs or tampering with electrical cabling or vehicles at garages and scrap merchants.

The appeal comes after a series of metal thefts across the county, including one this week when vandals caused a minor explosion at Callow Hill Quarry in Minsterley when they tried to cut through an aluminium electrical cable.

Police also chased the driver of a lorry laden with stolen metal on the A41 in Bletchley, near Market Drayton.

“If it is at night or makes you look twice, contact the police,” is the message from detectives, who have seen an increase in thefts of non-ferrous metal over the past couple of years.

Prices of metals such as copper, lead, aluminium and steel have rocketed due to an upturn in demand, leading to a rise in thefts across the country. The problem still only accounts for about one per cent of the total recorded crime in West Mercia but it is on the increase.

Detective Inspector Graham Edwards, of Shrewsbury CID, said: “Often offenders will wear work clothing such as high visibility vests in an attempt to look official, but the police would much rather attend and check someone was genuine than deal with a high value metal theft.”