Copper cabling worth about £2,000 has been seized by police cracking down on metal thieves in Lancashire [5 September 2011]

Officers visited two scrap metal yards in Blackburn and Great Harwood on Wednesday 31 August and found 60kg (132lb) of copper cable.

The copper, worth an estimated £2000, will now be subject to an investigation by Blackburn police working with British Telecom.

Crack down on metal theft

The find came as part of an operation aimed at reducing the theft of scrap metal.

Traffic officers have been monitoring vehicles entering yards and carrying out random checks on waste carriers.

Sgt James Black said: "It is likely the copper was stolen from the Fishmoor area of Blackburn. It is a fairly large amount and our enquiries continue to find out who was responsible.

"People often think the theft of scrap metal is a victimless crime when in fact it can cause more financial problems due to the damage caused after the initial theft.

"Items such as copper piping, lead flashing and boilers are a popular target for thieves. People should be reassured that the police treat these crimes very seriously - those responsible can expect to receive prison sentences."

Read more on the BBC website

Please note: Crimestoppers is not responsible for and does not endorse the content on external websites. Links to external websites are for the sole purpose of providing users with relevant crime-related information that may be of interest.

Crimestoppers is an independent charity and not part of the police. If you wish to pass on information about crime anonymously, please call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111, or fill out our anonymous online Giving Information Form