Cost of crime

Businesses in Newark are so fed up with being the victims of metal thefts they are joining together in a united effort to tackle a crime that is costing them tens of thousands of pounds. Much of that is having to be spent on stepping up security.

The chief executive of Newark and Nottinghamshire Agricultural Society, Mr Adrian Johnston, says the problem is out of control.

It’s hard to disagree.

In this area in the last couple of years gas supply pipes have been stolen from people’s homes and copper signalling wire stripped from the railways.

As reported last week churches in the Southwell and Nottingham diocese are among the hardest hit in the country by the theft of lead and other metals.

Last month the Advertiser told how a wheelchair used by a man with multiple sclerosis was stolen for its scrap value of just a couple of pounds.

These types of thefts cause huge disruption and difficulty for the victims that is way out of proportion in comparison to the value of what is stolen.

The police say there is a downward trend in metal theft in Nottinghamshire.

Operation Metallica, set up to tackle it has certainly had some successes.

But legislation is key.

A legal requirement for all scrap companies to ban cash-only transactions will surely help.

The law should also ensure that responsibility for establishing the source of scrap metal lies firmly with those buying it.