Sponsored by
Scrap metal dealers ‘must be licensed’ - Leeds MP
Leeds West MP Rachel Reeves.
A Leeds MP has called for “robust measures” against metal thieves after the theft of £50 of metal in her constituency caused £125,000 of damage.
The Leeds-Liverpool canal was shut due to oil pollution after metal thieves severed a main power cable serving hundreds of homes.
The damage cost £100,000 to repair and sparked a £25,000 clean-up for metal worth just £50.
The theft involved an oil-filled 33,000 volt power line over the canal in Kirkstall. Around 1,500 litres of oil spilled and a quantity entered the canal.
British Waterways staff worked with Environment Agency engineers and a Northern Powergrid team. The canal was closed for two days while a boom was placed around the oil slick.
The problems caused by metal theft – including disruption of rail services – led this week to a Parliamentary debate. The Government is proposing to ban cash transactions between metal dealers.
The canal theft took place in the Leeds West constituency of Labour MP Rachel Reeves - and she said more needed to be done.
“Government needs to go further if it is to effectively tackle the growing crime of metal theft. The theft on Redcote Lane is another shocking example of metal theft – £100,000 of damage for the sake of £50 of metal. These incidents have caused transport chaos in West Yorkshire, and households facing repeated power cuts. Banning cash transactions in itself will not solve the problem, as whilst legitimate scrap yards will go cashless, some yards may continue to take cash and continue a black market,” she said.
“Labour is calling for tougher powers for the police to close these rogue traders down. Currently the police cannot enter a yard and close it down – so the Government’s plan won’t achieve what it is setting out to do.
“People selling scrap metal should have to provide proof of identity at point of sale and the metal dealers should be properly licensed. The test of whether this Government is serious about tackling metal theft is whether it backs Labour’s more robust package of measures.”
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Leeds
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 8 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: East
Comments
There are 3 comments to this article
Page 1 of 1
Lock up thieves - it stops them robbing
Thursday, February 9, 2012 at 03:27 PMLabour want this and Labour want that... But Labour didn't build any extra prisons during their decade in power.
tiff
Thursday, February 9, 2012 at 03:15 PMYes Ms Reeves does like to see herself in the papers.! Give the toe rags who steel the metal very big jail sentences and make sure the papers print it. That will stop toe rags who dont work and just want to make a quick buck by steeling metal and if any firm gets caught buying any metal that as been stolen CLOSE THEM DOWN. The problem in this Country regarding young people is that for some reason if someone is under a certain age the law cant do a right lot. These are DICKS DAY LAWS and need changing the crimes that are committed by some young animals need to be treated accordingly by the severity of the crime.
OWNMIND
Thursday, February 9, 2012 at 12:37 PMShut down the scrap metal merchants who deal with it and jail those that steel the stuff in the first place. Mind you the “community” who are mainly involved in scrap metal “collection” are untouchable, so are unlikely to face justice As for Ms Reeves I would be surprised if she actually knew where the Leeds & Liverpool canal is. I’d bet she never visited the place with it being so far from her London home. “Ughhh northerners, they just vote for me, I don’t have to actually see them!”
Page 1 of 1
Your view
Please sign in to be able to comment on this story.