Milk cages are target for metal thefts

Metal cages used for transporting milk have become the latest target for thieves who are costing dairies £4 million a year, it emerged today.

Up to 50,000 milk cages were stolen over the last 12 months with firms across Staffordshire and the Black Country targeted.

Investigators say the cages are worth up to £100 but end up being sold at scrap yards for just £4.

The thefts have become so rife that industry experts have formed a trolley watch and a repatriation scheme to reunite dairies with cages.

They have also created what is dubbed as a "milk trolley identification directory" so recovered cages can be identified and returned to its rightful owner.

Dairy Crest, which has bases in Wolverhampton, Stourbridge and West Bromwich, is among the firms that has had cages stolen. One was recovered in a crackdown yesterday.

Simon Bates, from Dairy UK, said: "This is a relatively new problem that is facing the industry. It costs a hell of a lot of money to replace these things and that is difficult in times when we are trying to operate as efficiently as possible"

It comes as ministers launched discussions about lengthier sentences for metal thieves after the issue was raised by Tory MP Gavin Barwell yesterday.