Thieves steal 25 drain covers from Exhall industrial estate

Metal thieves struck at an Exhall industrial estate over the weekend stealing 25 drain covers.



The gully covers were taken from the Bayton Road Industrial Estate in Exhall some time between Friday night and 9am on Saturday morning.

A trader on the estate, who wanted to remain anonymous, discovered the thefts when he arrived at his unit and found large holes in the sides of the roads around the estate.

He said: “One of the drains was right outside my unit but the thieves have gone down the whole street and ripped each one up.

“The council has been round to make the roads safe with big cones. The place looks like a motorway roadworks right now with the amount of cones there are here.

“It could be a while before the covers are all replaced and I’m sure it will cost the council a fortune.”

It is thought the covers are worth about £300.

In another incident, which police believe is unrelated, more drain covers were stolen in The Crescent, Keresley End between 9-11pm on Saturday.

The thefts come a week after Warwickshire County Council announced more than 400 drain covers had been taken from the region’s roads in the past four months.

Warwickshire Highways spokesman Mervyn Hancox said: “Thefts of gully covers not only cost council taxpayers, but they can also be extremely dangerous to cyclists and motorcyclists, especially if they hit them at high speed.

“They have now been temporarily made safe and we will fit replacements when they are delivered.

“If members of the public see any suspicious activity with drain covers being removed, then we would urge them to contact the police.”

George Stepney, community intervention manager at Warwickshire Police, urged members of the public to keep their eyes open for metal thefts.

He said: “The nature of the items taken will be extremely obvious to scrap metal dealers as they can only have come from the street.

“We are asking dealers that if they are offered these items as scrap metal, they should be declined and the police should be contacted.

“We have had some significant successes with those found guilty of metal theft now being dealt with very severely by the courts.”

Also this weekend, 19 drain covers were found dumped in the Pool Road industrial estate in Nuneaton on Sunday morning.

Anyone who witnesses a theft or sees someone acting suspiciously on the side of the road should contact police on 01926 415465.

* IN a separate incident, a Coventry man was arrested on Saturday on suspicion of metal theft.

Warwickshire Police officers stopped the vehicle Iordan Mircea of Eld Road, Coundon was travelling in between junction 15 and 16 of the M40 on Saturday afternoon.

The 51-year-old was later charged with theft and released on police bail. He will appear at Leamington Magistrates Court tomorrow.