Metal task force set up

A nationwide task force is to be set up to tackle an "explosion" in metal thefts, it was revealed today.

British Transport Police will lead the operation, announcing the theft of rail signalling copper had become its biggest problem after terrorism.

Figures revealed today show the theft of metal is up 112 per cent in a year in the West Midlands and 120 per cent in West Mercia, among the highest rises in the country.

Police recently set up Operation Steel to tackle epidemic levels of metal thefts in the Black Country, where criminals have resorted to stealing everything from door knobs to entire bus shelters.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.

Deputy Chief Constable Paul Crowther of British Transport Police said "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 taking 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 warning scrap metal dealers not to accept this stolen property."

Lindsay Millington, of the British Metals Recycling Association, said: "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."

By Wayne Beese