Drain cover

[Busman747]

Originally Posted by cashman

Busman is correct without doubt, problem though is they weigh em in, usually well away from around here.

Agree cashman, but with the current price of iron and other metals, this is a national problem and should be treated as such. Guidance should be given centrally from Government to ALL police authorities in order to stamp out this dangerous crime.

[g jones]

I have just given this speech in the commons;

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Speech

Thank you Mr Speaker,

I’d like to start first by declaring an interest.

That my partner is an employee of Electricity North West and it is her

... and her colleague’s constant concerns .... that have drawn my attention to this very serious matter.

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I want to address the sheer scale of the problem

The increase in metal theft in the UK and elsewhere in the past few years has been alarming.

Electricity North West has seen a 40-fold increase in thefts over the past ten years.

There is a growing body of opinion that organised crime,

.....buttered by the benefits of high scrap prices for Copper, Aluminium and Brass,

... have a free hand without disruption to .... steal, ...sell ...and profit.

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Mr Speaker. The shocking figures speak for their self

In 2009 there were around 100 reported metal thefts per month according to Energy Networks Association which represents the electricity and gas network companies.

In 2011 that figure has risen to around 700 thefts per month, and in one calendar month, March this year it rose to a record 900 reported thefts.

Contrast that with March of 2009 where there were around 70 thefts.

Over a 1000% increase in 2 years.

The Association of Chief Police Officers put the annual cost of metal theft to the communications, energy, transport and water industries at £770m per annum.

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Targets

It is not just electricity that is being targeted.

The Energy Networks Association and Electricity North West both believe organised crime is involved and thieves are stealing to order from

• Telecommunications, gas and water infrastructure
• Rail and tramways
• Local authority street furniture, particularly manhole covers and gates
• Housing, Schools, buildings.
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BT reported in October last year that it had 900 cable theft attacks on its network in the previous six months. These affected more than 100,000 customers.

Virgin Media say cutting of cables in Teeside alone has cost £166k and the cost of 1700 stolen back up batteries had cost the business £680k

The British Transport Police estimate that over the last three years cable theft has cost the rail industry £43*million and led to more than 16,000 hours of delays. There is evidence that the theft of gates from railway stations is leaving rail networks dangerously exposed.

Metal Thefts affecting the supply of gas equipment has resulted in fires and explosions.
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Human consequence – personal accidents

There is also a human consequence to all these thefts.

I visited Electricity North West and was told by staff that there is daily worry about people’s safety as a result of metal theft.

1. Innocent children gaining unsecure access
2. Customers receiving dangerous high voltages at home.
3. Danger to those illegally entering sub stations.
4. And a danger to staff undertaking routine maintenance.
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Accident 1

Just over two months ago a 16 year old boy died in an electricity sub-station. This happened in the course of an alleged theft of copper cable.

According to Energy Networks Association, there have been four such deaths so far and at least fifty injured.

In June this year many saw the BBC TV news item of Leeds man with electricity cable burns from a 21,000 volt strike from a live power line.

Burns which were so bad his own daughter did not recognise him in hospital.

The impact blew part of his skull off, leaving his brain exposed.

Leeds magistrates gave him a 12-month community service order for burglary.

Consequence

The reality is that on a daily basis there are thefts taking place against our national energy infrastructure across the UK.

These are malicious and leave sites unsafe as well as causing disruption to the public and the economy.

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Loss of Supply

These thefts have led to 750 cases of loss of supply to at least 25,500 homes.

Of these there were over 2,500 cases involved damage to customer’s TVs, computers and boilers as a result of the outage.

In addition there have been 23 environmental incidents and at least 60 fires.

A recent theft in Yorkshire cost local residents and insurers over half a million pounds in broken electrical equipment and boilers as a result of a theft of £40 of copper when customers voltage rose from 240 volts to a dangerous 430 volts.

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In Castleford two houses blew up after the neutral wire was removed resulting in a 430 volt current in a cooker burning through a gas pipe. Caught on video, it is lucky no-one was home.

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Recent crimes in Electricity North West’s area

Until this year thefts had been mainly from substations but Electricity North West – like elsewhere - has seen an increase in thefts of overhead line wires from the top of 30m-high pylons carrying 132,000 volts.

In one incident in Chadderton a business owner noticed a power line had collapsed on to his roof when he arrived for work.

The thieves had climbed up an electricity pylon and had cut the wire.

The thieves did this at two further pylons, managing to steal two 400-yard lengths of copper cable.

The nearby Crown Business Centre, Failsworth, had been hit five times by copper thieves this year, frequently leaving their telephone lines down.

Nothing is stopping the thieves. Only days after the Chadderton theft thieves struck in Middleton where National Grid discovered another piece of copper cabling running between two pylons had been cut down.

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In Accrington this week, thieves have even taken to stealing the brass locks from numerous substations leaving them assessable to inquisitive young children.

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Earlier this year the theft of a £5 brass valve from an oil filled transformer resulted in 30 000 litres of oil leaking out.

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Luckily this was contained within the site ... but if it hadn't ..... it may easily have caused road accidents or damaged the local environment.

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Every day ENW suffers theft.

Some substations are robbed repeatedly where even electrified fencing has failed to keep thieves out.

Only last month and a first, National Grid suffered theft of the earth wire from a larger 275,000 volt overhead power line.

The anti-climbing guard was cut and the pylon climbed in broad day light, the earth wire cut which fell to ground and was then cut up which all requires specialist knowledge and cutting gear.

The earth wire could have fallen onto the live wires below which could have disrupted the supply of electricity to in excess of 100,000 people.

Had it been one of the largest pylons carrying 400,000 volts then this figure would have resulted in disruption to some 500,000.

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Criminal Plague – Government inaction - Police

The police and the Home Office have frankly not taken this issue seriously enough.

The paltry Government focus on metal theft and lack of consistent police action across the country has quietly allowed serious organised criminal groups to muscle in on this increasingly lucrative trade.

From organised thieves with protected rounds cruising my back alley each week ... and other back alleys in Haslingden and Hyndburn.. *to expert criminals with now how.

The Government must take this seriously. I ask the Minister to consider this issue at the Energy Emergency Executive.

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Cost of metal v cost of repair

In March two men were sentenced for 20 months for theft of metal from two substations in Kent that caused £125,000 of damage for copper that was estimated at less than £100 in value.

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The reality is that apprehension for Metal theft is rare. If caught it is only punishable under the Theft Act.

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Whilst most thefts do thousands of pounds worth of damage, the law only considers the actual scrap value of a few pounds resulting usually in just a community sentence.

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Completely disproportionate to the consequences of the crime.

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Cost to Customers

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Currently metal theft from Elec North West’s network costs customers approximately £2m a year.

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Safety paramount concern

The electricity and gas industry network companies can only do so much to address the problem. Safety remains their paramount concern.

They are making our infrastructure as secure as possible but there are hundreds of thousands of individual sites.

In the UK, individual companies and industries have attempted to deal with these issues by deploying various types of defence, including:

CCTV

Forensic marking systems

Improved building security, locking and fencing

As well as Electrified fencing.

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Even close collaboration with the Police such as in Greater Manchester has not stemmed the increase’s in theft.

This appears to have the effect of simply moving the crime to another area, company or private property.

It has proved almost impossible to prevent metal theft in a cost-effective way.

No industry affected by these crimes has found an effective and enforceable system to deal with the receivers of the metals or deter the perpetrators.

With copper prices at £6000 per tonne and sky high aluminium prices Electricity North West believes that the majority of the metal theft on its network is either stolen to order and sold through poorly regulated scrap dealers or is bulked at a predetermined location and exported to overseas foundries.

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Prices

At a recent visit to a wholesale and reputable scrap metal dealers ... Elect North West found on site some of their equipment which had been stolen and had entered the... cash only, no questions asked ... system.

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Lessons from Europe

The UK is now at risk from theft tourism as our European counterparts implement robust regulatory systems to combat how metals may be bought and traded.

That organised crime choose the UK as a soft option for metal theft.

France and Belgium are implementing a process of cashless transactions for scrap metal and other countries are beginning to address the problem.

It is clear that current legislation is not fit purpose. That allowing for the redoubling of efforts by companies, metal theft continues to rise at an alarming rate.

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Solutions

There is overwhelming evidence that the Government needs to focus on the supply chain and reclassify criminal deterrents so the sentence fits the crime

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There must be a focus on the people these thieves sell their stolen metal onto which is not always scrap metal dealers. It may be as ENW found out... *container collection points for movement out of Hull sea port.

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Therefore it is imperative that we close down all means of disposal of the stolen metal, not just target scrap metal dealers.

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So far the Government have stood idly by relying on legislation from the age of Steptoe & Son....

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It seems incapable of or unwilling to take reasonable steps to stamp out criminality and organised crime despite the warm words of Baroness Browning.

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The Scrap Metal Dealers Act is from 1964.

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It imposes no obligation on scrap metal dealers to comply with the law and in fact does quite the opposite.

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Those that do register under the Act can be visited by the Police whilst those that do not can only be visited if there is a reasonable suspicion that they have stolen metal on their site.

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This is a ridiculous situation.

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In closing Mr Speaker... I call on the government to consider the following changes

1. To amend the Scrap Metal Dealers Act. The Uk needs a robust licensing regime (rather than the present registration), with scrap metal dealers paying a licence fee in order to fund the regulation of the licence.
2. That Property obtained by virtue of theft should be regarded as criminal assets allowing Proceeds of Crime provisions to apply.
3. In line with alcohol licensing powers, police authorities should have the power to search and investigate all premises owned and operated by a scrap metal dealer, and close scrap metal dealers where criminally obtained materials are discovered.
4. To restrict trade in scrap metals to cashless payments and introduce a requirement that scrap metal must not be sold or processed until payments have been cleared.
5. That Photo ID and CCTV to be used to identify sellers of scrap and their vehicles.
6. Magistrates to have powers to add licence restrictions and prevent closed yards re-opening and that criminal gangs are charged proportionate to the consequences of the crime and not the scrap metal value.
So I ask the Minister to use all his efforts to ensure that something is done now before it is too late.

Thank you Mr Speaker

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[cashman]

Nice one Mr Jones, lets just hope heed is taken by those in power, won't hold me breath though.

[jaysay]

Originally Posted by cashman

Busman is correct without doubt, problem though is they weigh em in, usually well away from around here.

They cashy but it don't matter where they weigh um in the people who buy them must know they are nicked especially if they arrive with a van load

[wallop79]

Originally Posted by Busman747

Enough about Bridge St. I was interested to read Wallops post above. He has 2 drain covers missing near where he lives, would that be Surrey St. by any chance? Alice St. which is a continuation of Surrey St also has 2 covers missing - and with no cones!

No one on Bishop St, one Rough Lee Rd, and yest saw one on South St (first time i'd noticed this one & it was the reminder I needed to ring the council). Surely in this day & age there could be an alternative to making these out of metal, what about polycarbonate, this is used in Blackpool Tower for the platform people can stand on at the top of said Tower. (i think people will know what I'm on about) or any other suggestions?

[g jones]

Originally Posted by wallop79

No one on Bishop St, one Rough Lee Rd, and yest saw one on South St (first time i'd noticed this one & it was the reminder I needed to ring the council). Surely in this day & age there could be an alternative to making these out of metal, what about polycarbonate, this is used in Blackpool Tower for the platform people can stand on at the top of said Tower. (i think people will know what I'm on about) or any other suggestions?

Good suggestion. Will follow up.

[Neil]

Originally Posted by g jones

Good suggestion. Will follow up.

No need to Graham, LCC are already replacing the stolen ones with non metallic ones. I was speaking to the engineers when they replaced a stolen one behind my house. They say non metallic on them as well.

The stupid thing is they never order enough spare ones so they have to come out and do the dangerous cone thing, then come back later and drop the plastic ones in. The only drop in the hole and have chamfered sides to hold them in place.

It would safe a lot of time and money to do the job "right first time" a methodology used in business for many years, time to catch up LCC

[Less]

Originally Posted by Neil

No need to Graham, LCC are already replacing the stolen ones with non metallic ones. I was speaking to the engineers when they replaced a stolen one behind my house. They say non metallic on them as well.

The stupid thing is they never order enough spare ones so they have to come out and do the dangerous cone thing, then come back later and drop the plastic ones in. The only drop in the hole and have chamfered sides to hold them in place.

It would safe a lot of time and money to do the job "right first time" a methodology used in business for many years, time to catch up LCC

Perhaps what they need to do is replace all the metal ones with these none metallic ones?
Better that LCC use the scrap value of the metal ones to pay for the replacements than some thief should profit and leave them with the full bill of replacing them.

[Neil]

Originally Posted by Less

Perhaps what they need to do is replace all the metal ones with these none metallic ones?
Better that LCC use the scrap value of the metal ones to pay for the replacements than some thief should profit and leave them with the full bill of replacing them.

I was told by the chaps doing them they cost £80 each and even some of those were stolen by mistake even though they say non metallic on them. Not sure the scrap value of one drain cover but I would guess at under a fiver, maybe only a couple of quid each.

What we need is for the Police to do their job and lock up the thieves to prevent it happening.

[Tealeaf]

Originally Posted by Neil

I was told by the chaps doing them they cost £80 each and even some of those were stolen by mistake even though they say non metallic on them.

I think the problem there is that most thieves can neither read or write.

[Retlaw]

Originally Posted by Tealeaf

I think the problem there is that most thieves can neither read or write.

Even if they can't read or write, they should be able to tell by the weight that its not metal.
Retlaw.

[Tealeaf]

Originally Posted by Retlaw

Even if they can't read or write, they should be able to tell by the weight that its not metal.
Retlaw.

Maybe there's a market for recycled plastic in China.

[Neil]

Here you go a couple of pictures showing the grid in place and lifted out showing how thick it is. In the second picture you can see the inside of the grid has rotted away and the whole thing needs replacing.

The replacement is a very poor fit and any kid could lift it out as nothing holds it in place. This would leave a dangerous hold again.

[Busman747]

Just an update on the cause of the original post, after 12 days ----- and still there is a gaping hole! I sent an e-mail and received a reply saying that if the problem hasn't been resolved within 10 days, I can send a second e-mail for an update on what is happening

Early this afternoon, a yellow council open truck slowly drove along Bridge st. with a council worker hanging out of the passenger door window scrutinising the pavement. Unfortunately, they didn't stop "Hole guvner, wot hole? we didn't see no 'ole!"


Update on Surrey St, another drain cover disappeared overnight, thats 3 now in Surrey St and the 2 still in Alice St.

Congratulations Graham on a speech that accurately spells out what is happening all around us and I agree with the solutions that you have put forward.

[Busman747]

Originally Posted by Neil

Not sure the scrap value of one drain cover but I would guess at under a fiver, maybe only a couple of quid each.

Don't know the going rate at today's prices but you are talking well in excess of £100-00 per ton for scrap iron, doesn't take many covers to make up a ton in weight.