Shameless thieves who desecrate war memorials, damage churches and cause transport chaos are being assisted by out-of-date legislation which hampers regulation of the scrap metal industry, council leaders have warned.

Following a surge in the theft of copper, lead and bronze from memorials, railway lines and power cables, the Local Government Association is calling for councils to be given greater powers and resources to hold scrap metal dealers to account.

The majority of metal stolen by thieves for profit will end up being bought by scrap yards. But outdated legislation regulating the industry means that unscrupulous vandals who plunder metal plaques commemorating Britain's war dead are able to profit from their crimes without it being traced back to them.

In the run up to Remembrance Sunday tomorrow, thieves have defaced and vandalised memorials by prising from them metal to sell as scrap.

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There are an estimated 100,000 memorials in the UK. The rising cost of metal has increasingly made them a target for thieves looking to make a quick buck.

Cllr Mehboob Khan, Chairman of the LGA's Safer and Stronger Communities Board, said: "It is utterly shameless and beyond contempt that anyone would desecrate the memory of those who have given their lives for their country in this way.

"The value of these metal plaques far surpasses any price these heartless thieves will get for the metal.

"Often they are the only remaining source of information on people from an area who have paid the ultimate price while serving their country.

"A lot of these stolen memorials will end up at scrap metal yards. Because of the out-of-date regulation of the scrap metal industry, thieves can make a quick buck from unscrupulous dealers and it is difficult to trace it back to them."

Theft of metal from railway lines, power stations and street furniture is estimated to cost the UK economy £770 million a year, according to figures from the Association of Chief Police Officers.

Scrapyard owners have a responsibility to register with their local authority, but local authorities have little power to regulate them once registered.

The LGA, which represents more than 350 councils in England and Wales, is calling for local authorities to be given new powers to impose and enforce conditions on licences they issue to scrap dealers.

Councils are also calling for a tougher punishment than the current maximum £1,000 fine for operation by unregistered scrap dealers.

(CD)