Stone theft

This article tells us: stone theft is reaching “epidemic” levels in parts of Britain and should be treated as a “serious organised crime”, the Policing Minister has said. Mike Penning said that specialist prosecutors will focus on bringing “high-profile” cases against stone thieves in coming months. The thieves have been switching to stealing stone and slate from pavements, roads, schools and churches after a government crackdown on scrap metal. Jason McCartney, the MP for Colne Valley, told the Commons that thieves wearing high-visibility jackets have been pretending to be council workers to steal stone.