Drain thefts in Bexley fall following council initiative
12:42pm Friday 12th October 2012 in News By Alan Woods
The number of drain cover thefts has fallen significantly.
THE NUMBER of drain cover thefts across Bexley has fallen significantly following a council initiative.
Thieves stole 336 cast iron covers in the borough between May 2008 and August 2011, costing the council £84,000 in replacement costs.
A further £37,000 was spent by the council on out of hour’s emergency works to make safe the unprotected chambers following the thefts, which predominantly occurred overnight.
In 2009, Bexley Council started to routinely mark each drain cover with blue marker paint.
Scrap dealers were warned they would face charges of handling stolen goods if they were found to be accepting these marked stolen covers.
As a result from August last year to present, just 10 thefts have been reported, which the council says are more as a result of opportunist theft than organised crime.
