Thieves steal £16,000 worth of steel bins in one month in Kirklees

Nov 18 2010 by Joanne Douglas, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

THIEVES have made of with £16,000 worth of council street bins.

Over the last four weeks 72 steel litter bins have been stolen from areas of Kirklees.

And it has left the council with a messy problem – they need to find around £16,000 to replace the bins worth around £220 each.

The thefts may also have a knock-on effect on costs associated with keeping the streets clean and tidy.

Arrests have been made in connection with the thefts, but there isn’t enough evidence to prosecute the suspects so far.

Police are now appealing for anyone with information about the culprits, including scrap dealers who may have had people try to sell the bins, to contact the police.

Clr David Sheard, cabinet member for Streetscene, said: “I would urge anyone with information which might lead to identification to come forward as soon as possible.Š

“The police have made arrests but have said there isn’t enough evidence to lay charges.Š

“These thefts hit all our residents in the pocket as the bins need to be replaced.Š

“I have also contacted the Environment Agency to ask them to use their licensing powers against scrap yards that accept obviously stolen items.”

Investigations so far lead them to believe the bins are being sold for their scrap metal value.

Two vehicles are believed to be in use during the thefts – one is a Transit with a white cab with a blue back and drop side and the other is a white Mercedes with a sliding door.

Many of the bins are fixed to the ground and have been stolen from locations through the borough, mainly outside shops, bus stops and one outside Ravensthorpe train station.

It comes as West Yorkshire Police in Leeds have reduced the number of thefts of metal for scrap by 44% since launching a scheme to tackle ‘rough traders’ in six months.

They acted after items such as copper piping, lead flashing from roofs and garden furniture were being sold on at waste traders and scrap metal merchants by criminals wanting to make quick cash.

Officers check that those weighing in metals had valid carriers licences and kept accurate records of everything they had sold to scrap dealers. Their action led to 21 traders being issued with £300 fixed penalty notices after failing to produce documents.