Eighty-eight percent of local authorities in England and Wales have been affected by metal thefts, a new survey by the Local Government Association (LGA) has found.

The ‘Metal theft survey 2012’, conducted by the LGA between February and June 2012 and released today (9 July), saw 157 councils in England and Wales respond to questions about whether they had been affected by metal theft since April 2009, and found that only 12 per cent of councils had not had metal stolen from their area in the past three years.

The survey found that the high value of scrap metal has led to a surge of metal thefts, with local authorities citing that the two most commonly targeted items by thieves are manhole/drain covers (affecting 32 per cent of respondents) and roofing material (affecting 24 per cent of respondents). The metal thefts amounted to approximately £4.6 million and cost individual councils up to £100,000 in 2010/11 (down from £117,500 in 2009/10).

Despite the widespread thefts, the survey found that only four in 10 councils have prosecuted thieves and/or scrap metal dealers over the past three years for metal theft or handling stolen goods and over half of the respondents thought that they should be given powers to deal with unscrupulous scrap metal dealers, including closure of illegally trading sites, the introduction of a cashless payment system and a requirement for dealers to be licensed by councils.

Councillor Mehboob Khan, Chairman of the LGA's Safer and Stronger Communities Board, commented on the findings, saying: "Soaring thefts of metal are causing increasing amounts of disruption and distress, whether it's homes left without power because of stolen cabling or bereaved families heartbroken at the theft of a plaque commemorating the heroic efforts of a loved one.

"We simply can't afford to do nothing, but frustratingly, councils are being hindered by out-of-date legislation which hampers their ability to properly regulate the scrap metal industry.”

Khan went on to urge MPs to back Friday’s Private Member’s Bill on plans to reform the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 1964. If fewer than 102 MPs attend the vote, the bill will fail and action to tackle metal theft would be postponed for at least another year.

“MPs will all be aware of the damage, disruption and heartaches metal thefts have caused in their areas. The legislation for regulating the scrap metal industry has long ceased to be fit for purpose and we can't afford for Parliament to stall any longer on bringing it up-to-date. Whatever their political party, councils from across the country will be looking to MPs this Friday to take forward this bill to help introduce proper regulation of the scrapyards where much of this stolen metal ends up."

Khan suggested that councils would want to see a renewable scrap licence for scrap metal dealers, which “could be reviewed at the instigation of the police or licensing authority and, if necessary, revoked”. It is hoped that this would make it less likely for stolen metal to be accepted at scrapyards.

Other findings from the survey include:

• Gully covers had been stolen in 31.8 per cent of local authority areas, roofing materials in 24.2 per cent, road signs in 14.6 per cent and electric cables in 14.6 per cent.
• The median cost of metal theft to councils was £14,000 up from £11,125 in 2009/2010.
• Metal thefts had led to ‘major consequences' for residents in nearly one in five local authority areas (18 per cent). These included roads having to close and a resident falling down an exposed drain.
• Six per cent of councils had been sued as a result of metal theft. Major consequences of metal theft included an occasion where a member of the public fell down a gully and the closure of a main road.
• Councils are now taking counter-measures against metal theft by using non-metallic alternatives and by using anti-theft measures such as CCTV and the use of SmartWater marking (chemical marker applied to materials to identify original owners)

The full metal survey 2012 can be found on the LGA website.