COPPER thefts increasing in uk

Pikies have always nicked lead of roofs for as long as i can remember.I put about £10K of lead on a roof in 1980 and the next day it was gone and the security guard was asleep.
I knocked down an old Victorian 'palace' in 1974 and saved all the antique fire places (cast iron) and ornate radiators (cast iron) and they pinched the lot.
If they hadnt been melting down all the iron railings during the war to make bombs they'd all have got nicked as well.

Always been thieves and cutthroats but no doubt it gets worse when metal prices are high.

A CHURCH IN BRACKNELL HAS HAD ITS LEAD/COPPER? ON IT ROOFS ETC STOLEN SEVERAL TIMES OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS

Badboy wrote:A CHURCH IN BRACKNELL HAS HAD ITS LEAD/COPPER? ON IT ROOFS ETC STOLEN SEVERAL TIMES OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS

God knows why ?

COPPER ITEMS(VASES ETC) HAVE BEEN STOLEN FROM GRAVESIDES(USA).
IN ESSEX,800 SHOPPING TROLLEYS WERE STOLEN FROM A ASDA STORE

I haven't seen this in our papers here - maybe it's not big enough to get into the news in Houston or into the financial papers.

But here, you barely get anything made of copper any more, it's all this crappy pvc plastic pipe...

I did see in the paper where in Nigeria I think it was, some people tried to tap a hole into a gas pipeline thining they could capture it in their buckets and bottles, of course it exploded and killed something like 20 people.

There is no free lunch.

widowan wrote:I haven't seen this in our papers here - maybe it's not big enough to get into the news in Houston or into the financial papers.

But here, you barely get anything made of copper any more, it's all this crappy pvc plastic pipe...

I did see in the paper where in Nigeria I think it was, some people tried to tap a hole into a gas pipeline thining they could capture it in their buckets and bottles, of course it exploded and killed something like 20 people.

There is no free lunch.

I READ SOMETHING ABOUT THAT IN NIGERIA,I THINK THERE HAVE BEEN SEVERAL INSTANCES OF THAT HAPPENED,WASN'T IT AN OIL PIPELINE THAT GOT CUT,SO A LOT OF PEOPLE GATHERED ROUND TO CATCH SOME OF THE GUSHING OIL.
i BELIEVE I MAY HAVE SEEN ON GOOGLE NEWS REFERENCES TO HOUSTON AND/OR TEXAS CONCERNING METAL THEFTS.

Actually the pvc I am mentioning is more a complaint I have with my own house - and residential construction - I am sure that given the ship yards here and the refineries and such there is probably a ton of stuff worth stealing.

I'd have thought CCTV and good security would be the order of the day around such facilities but maybe it's a lot of "inside jobs?"

ONE PERSON IN YORKSHIRE,METHINKS WHO TRIED TO DO SOME METAL THEFT FROM AN ELECTRICAL SUBSTATION ENDED UP ELECTROCUTED,LOST THE USE OF ONE HAND,WASN'T REGNOCISED BY HIS 3YEAR OLD DAUGHTER AND LOOKED LIKE SOMEONE OUT OF THE DAY OF THE DEAD.

I am doing some work on my house and the 'Pikies' keep stopping and rumaging in my skip.

Yesterday one stopped in his old truck and at least had the decency to ask if he could have a look and take what i dont want.Well all that was in there was muck and trees and bits from my garage but he found an old metal curtain pole and took that.

Well blow me down if another couple stopped outside this morning.Its like they can smell scrap from miles away.And these two didnt even ask to come on my property,as the skip is well inside my land on my front lawn.I was just standing by my garage and as bold as brass they jumped in my skip (what just cost me 150 squid by the way) and started chucking out old wires and stuff that i had bagged up and they were ripping the bags apart to look inside and just throwing them out.Well normally you dont want to 'mess' with Pikies as most are the scum of the earth,and i mean that as well they really are and if thats not Politically correct i dont care,if you challenge them you are likely to get a brick through your window later on.So i said ok then just take what you want and get out and they did.

Actual fact they did me a favour as they took an old 'Z' bed out that was taking up valuable space as i need a bit more space for my garage roof thats coming off tomorrow.

Stuff they were taking wasn't worth tuppence so that goes to show what sort of World we are living in when in this country we have people behaving like that for a few pence.Reminded me of them kids in India that go scavaging around the rubbish tips for anything they can find.

Never mess with 'pikies' unless you have a big dog as they go a bit shy when they see them.These two today clocked what was in my garage as well as the door was open.so i'm on guard tonight with my air rifle just in case they come back.

FORGOT TO MENTION A SALVATION ARMY CLOTHES BANK HAS BEEN STOLEN BY METAL THIEVES.
I SUPPOSE BOTTLES BANKS WILL BE NEXT.METAL DOORS?

good grief!

What are pikies? Gypsies?

A big dog is a nice thing to have, even better than an air rifle, because they can hear what you don't and can give a big WOOF and nearly everyone is frightened of a dog defending its own home and hearth.

In Houston we put heavy trash out twice a year, not your regular trash and recycling which is twice a week although scavengers do have a dig through that and as long as they put the rest back in the bin I don't mind although am not really fond of having them as close to my home and children as the front lawn/street. However when you put heavy trash, people put everything- metal lawn furniture, bed steads, piles of everything as long as it's cut into four foot lengths they'll take it - and before the trash men come to take it, there are trucks of people having a dig through and snatching whatever they want and they don't bother to ask. Nor to pile things back up how they were left, all the time.

I always felt sorry for them as who would have that job if they didn't have to do it - however when I had a case of equipment stolen from my front walk where I had just set it waiting for a cab to the airport, I became less tolerant.

What's stopping them from having a peek round the garage and sheds and even into the back garden, it's only a few more yards of distance and an unlocked gate to go through. At 5 AM.

Pikeys.............

Firefighters' Lucky Escape As House Explodes

Sky News

A video showing the dramatic moment a house exploded has been released by West Yorkshire's fire service.

Officers were called to reports of a small kitchen fire in Castleford but when they arrived they found a series of fires in six terraced houses.

Firefighters had only just evacuated the 30 residents from their properties when the huge blast happened and one of the houses was engulfed in flames.

The footage has been released as a warning about the dangers of stealing copper wire and tampering with electricity and gas supplies.

A spokesman said a piece of cable had been cut from an overhead line which affected the earthing of the electrical network in the area and resulted in unusual electrical activity which, in turn, affected some of the gas pipes within the properties.

He said this resulted in the fires and explosion which left two firefighters with minor injuries.

Two homes were partly demolished and the four other houses suffered extensive fire and blast damage.

The video was captured by one of West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service's "silent witness" cameras which are attached to appliances.

A 27-year-old man from the Castleford area arrested on suspicion of the theft of cable has been released on bail pending further inquiries.

annaesse,you beat me to it,because i was looking on google news only a moment ago,only shows how dangerious metal thefts can be, a family in edinburgh? had their copper pipes stolen,a flick of a switch would have ignited the leaking gas

AnnaEsse

I actually saw this on the news - it blew apart the houses - what is this Country coming to. I despair!

Angelique wrote:AnnaEsse

I actually saw this on the news - it blew apart the houses - what is this Country coming to. I despair!

You can watch the video of the explosion on Sky News.

I live in an area where there is a large Sikh community and yesterday one of my neighbours approached me when I was chopping the hedge. He said there had been several burglaries in local houses, which were close enough for him to point out. The robberies were all from Sikh households and it was gold that had gone. A few weeks ago someone stole the wheel trims off my car!

Lioned wrote:Pikeys.............

I was thinking this was something educational or on the news and thinking to myself "that gypsy looks so much like Brad Pitt!" and then I notice this is from a movie called Snatch oh god, Nasa missed out on hiring me.

So gypsies now live in trailers or what do you call them, mobile homes. Not as romantic as the horse and cart from the Madeleine book. My daughter loved that story and thought it would be very romantic to be kidnapped by gypsies and get to go to the circus and so on. HOwever when you see it like this it seems just like being poor and dirty and evidently if they steal to get money, unethical. Not too romantic.

To be fair i think there is a difference between true 'Romany Gypsies' and 'Pikies' and there is another catagory of 'Tinkers',and rag and bone men.

'Pikies' tends to be a collective phrase for all those of generally no fixed abode who always seem to have a bit of tarmac left over from the job up the road,pay no tax,flout the law,and nick the lead of your roof and do dodgy brick paviour work.

Lioned wrote:To be fair i think there is a difference between true 'Romany Gypsies' and 'Pikies' and there is another catagory of 'Tinkers',and rag and bone men.

'Pikies' tends to be a collective phrase for all those of generally no fixed abode who always seem to have a bit of tarmac left over from the job up the road,pay no tax,flout the law,and nick the lead of your roof and do dodgy brick paviour work.

I dont think we have that here. I did see a movie once that ws kind of a documentary about Romany gypsies living in, I think, either NY or in Canada but pikies and tinkers seem to be more of a European phenomenon. They wouldn't last long in Texas, everyone seems to have a gun and would certainly be risky to be caught stealing if you are on someone's property in Texas they can shoot you if they feel threatened - it's called the Castle Law (man's home is his castle) and it does cut down on the breaking and entering, as well as trespassing.

We could do with that law here.

POSSIBLY OFF TOPIC, I AM WATCHING FAKE BRITAIN, THERE ARE FAKE ELECTRICAL CABLES PERHAPS MADE FROM STOLEN COPPER.

I BELIEVE POLICE ARE CARRYING OUT RAIDS ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY CONCERNING METAL THEFTS.
BEER BARRELS HAVE BEEN STOLEN,THEN SOLD FOR SCRAP

TELEPHONE 0845 3300247 IF YOU HAVE INFORMATION ON CPPOER AND POSSIBLY METAL THEFTS.

I SAW YESTERDAY THAT IN WILTSHIRE?,A WAR MEMORIAL WAS STRIPPED OF ITS NAME PLATE TO SELL AS SCRAP METAL.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-coventry-warwickshire-14557678

17 August 2011 Last updated at 16:59

Cable theft leaves Napton without phones for five days

Villagers in South Warwickshire have been without telephone or internet access since Thursday night.

Services were affected as thieves stole more than a mile of copper cabling, a spokesman for BT said.

He added that 170 householders had reported faults in Napton-on-the-Hill, near Southam, and confirmed the cable could serve up to 600 premises.

The post office has been closed since Friday, affecting pension payments in a situation described as "diabolical".

Janet Coldicutt, village shop owner and post mistress, said: "Most of the old people have been able to go to other post offices, but I even offered to lend money to one woman who had no transport.

"The last few days have been diabolical for everyone."
'Lost customers'

Ms Coldicutt added: "We've lost a lot of customers through it. We get a lot of tourists from the canal using the ATM, but we've had to turn them away and we haven't been able to take card payments."

Since the disconnection at 23:30 BST on Thursday, the shop has also had to make orders using a telephone outside the village because of poor mobile reception.

Patricia Walsh, an office manager in the village, said her business telephone was also out-of-action until midday Wednesday.

She said: "The post office has been the most affected in this. She's really important to the village."

Openreach, part of the BT group, has offered a £1,000 reward for anyone giving information that leads to a prosecution for the cable theft.

A spokesman said it was hoped all services would be restored within the next 48 hours.