THIEVES in the Scarbor-ough area are putting lives in danger and costing councils thousands of pounds by stealing cast iron drainage covers.
There have been 30 thefts reported in the borough – which also includes Whitby and Filey – and North Yorkshire County Council's Highways Department estimates that they will cost a total of £9,000 to replace.
According to figures released by the co
unty council, Scarborough is the joint second worst area in the county for manhole-cover thefts.
It is believed the number of covers being prised from roads across the county has risen due to soaring scrap metal prices.
Cllr John Fort, the county council's executive member for business and environmental services, said there were more than just the financial consequences resulting from the thefts.
He said: "These thefts are potentially deadly. If the theft is not reported to us it could lead to cyclists and motorcyclists being thrown from their machines, or a car overturning. Some of the grates have been removed from roads where there is a 60mph limit.
"While we are naturally concerned about the replacement cost of the drain covers, we are much more worried about the potential threat to the safety of pedestrians, cyclists and all other road users."
He added that a total of 170 covers had been stolen from roads across the county and, with replacements costing an average of £300 each, the cost of the criminals' activities was well over £50,000.
The worst area for the thefts was for roads maintained by the highways depot in Selby where there had been 60 reported incidents, and there were 24 reported incidents in the Kirkbymoorside area.
What do you think? You can leave your comments below.The full article contains 296 words and appears in Scarborough Evening News newspaper.
