Metal Thieves

J

John Skittles

New Member
I had a load of parts nicked off my drive today. I'd got them all out for a guy who was due to collect them this morning (cyl. head, starter motors, exhaust manifold, gearbox,hubcaps, carbs etc), and then had to pop out to pick up my wife and baby. By the time I got back, less than 10 mins later, the guy who was due to collect was waiting, but all the metal parts were gone. A nieghbour confirmed that as soon as I left, an open bed lorry pulled up, 2 guys threw all the metal parts on the bed and they sped off. I live in a pretty nice, friendly area and didn't anticipate this happening for a moment.

Absolutely gutted. The buyer had come down from Oxford too - obviously none too happy, but very understanding considering the situation.

Anyway, looks like the price of scrap metal has got the pikeys chomping at the bit, so be careful folks, turn your back for a moment and they'll have your precious parts away to be melted down.

Probably my last post as I've sold my car and parts now (well had my parts nicked). Just wanted to let folks know about my experience though.

John
 
It`s happeneing all over mate. Last week I disturbed 4 teenagers who were trying to nick a 4x3 foot sheet of lead off my door canopy. I was awake, with lights on in the house, watching The Sweeney! Then just last night, at roughly the same time, myself and my elderly neighbour disturbed, probably the same numptys, trying to steal hers. Only our TV cables overlapping it stopped them.
 
Bit of a risky topic !!
I had a meeting at my HO the other week and politely referred to gypsies and travellers and was severely told off by the HR manager who said they are a protected group !
 
Last year we had a full comunity broke into our carpark at work and setup camp one saturday night, 12 caravans worth !! Once setup they decided to attack the building. This obviously set off the alarms etc which got the police out. As usual it was "we can't move them on...." from the police. But luckily we had CCTV footage of 2 of them attacking the building, so they arrested them, at which point the rest decided to leave before they got arrested too !!

Our HR lady isn't so nice, she has some very short words to describe them !!!
 
I’m certainly not going to condone that sort of behaviour but when the scrap value hits £160 a ton you can see "it's easy money"
I know Banger Racing is a thorny issue amongst our group who spend a lot of time keeping rust at bay and keeping our “old” cars running but faced with a Jaguar weighting 2 tons any “old scrap” car is already worth £360 – What I’m saying is that if you have a “project” waiting to be started somebody somewhere is going to see it and not see “a classic under restoration” or a “potential race car” they are just going to see £360 – Kerching.
I think it's time that we all need to protect our cars more by installing more security. If nothing else the first post in this thread should make us all think about our precise "lumps of metal" and how we protect them.
Climbs down off my soap box and goes back to work.
Al
 
No point putting up a big metal fence, they'll just have that away too !! :D
Won't be long before railway lines go missing in the night.....
 
I did read about drain covers being stolen for scrap value , leaving nice big holes in the road

Some " travellers" set up camp next to an MP and the papers reported how they'd linked up to the water and electric supplies. I don't suppose they've installed meters and are paying for it ...............
 
I think we're up to at least two or perhaps three potential thieves of electrical copper wire from electrical grid substations. Yes, the substation was live and yes the two, perhaps three culprits died.

I think they are nominations for the Darwinian Award. :D
Darwinian Awards

Eric
 
DaveHerns said:
Bit of a risky topic !!
I had a meeting at my HO the other week and politely referred to gypsies and travellers and was severely told off by the HR manager who said they are a protected group !
Click to expand...
It is a bit of a dangerous topic but having to clean up from the mess left by them when I worked for Wokingham council all the stereo types are spot on. I saw a documentary and quite a few are not true gipsy's but escaped or ex cons looking for an easy life and staying of the police radar. No address no tracking of persistent offenders. Just a fact of life and I feel sorry for true travellers that are law abiding. Did use to visit a Site in Bagshot where a mate had a paint shop. The guys who run that site back then were an ok bunch, made you laugh, but I still would not have trusted them.

Back to the subject, I grew up on the Old dean estate and back then it was ruff so I've got a built in reflex to never leave stuff out. It must have been really annoying (replace last word with something rude ;) ). Did you ring the local metal merchant? A p6 head would be easy to notice? Or is the a long shot? Prob is.
 
I am worried about this sort of thing.

My p6 sits on the drive way if there is something else in the garage. I have no number plates on it and to the passing eye it is an abandoned restoration or parts car.

I know a guy from glasgow who run cars without tax sometimes. One night her was out and his mum heard a heavy engine int he street. A scappy with a HI-Hab had only roll up clocked the out of date tax and thought " BINGO an abandoned car" he had smashed the windows and put a sling through the doors. His mum ran out an got stuck into the bloke but by that time the roof had been mangled.

I always try to keep the garage closed, every spring/summer we get the "tree cutters and patio cleaners" round. They always try and peak in to see what is lying around. I am seriously thinking about an alarm.

Colin
 
Thanks guys - just when I was getting home-sick. Our village has 2 police stations and no problems as described in good old blighty
 
2 Police stations in a Village !! We're lucky to find 1 in a city over here ! :D No shortage of "safety cameras" though.....
 
arthuy said:
I know a guy from glasgow who run cars without tax sometimes.
Click to expand...

Well, to be honest. If you have an untaxed car on the road in this day & age then you've only got yourself to blame & I don't have any sympathy (especially if it's free). The bl**dy parking permits are going to outstrip the tax-disc in price round here soon. :angry:
 
DaveHerns said:
Bit of a risky topic !!
I had a meeting at my HO the other week and politely referred to gypsies and travellers and was severely told off by the HR manager who said they are a protected group !
Click to expand...
Its PC gone totally mad.

My Wife works at a local High School where a number of "traveller" children attend.

Its forbidden for other children and staff to refer to them as travellers, gypsies or pickeys.

However, said minority constantly refer to the other children as being "gorgers", which I understand is a very offensive term used by travellers ( or whatever we are allowed to call them now).

Staff are instructed to take no action if traveller children use this term.

So where is the justice in that ???????????

BTW. Hello Dave
 
It won`t matter to any of us who`s `in power`, they`re all in the job to line their own pockets, and b******s to the rest of us mate.
 
It's open season on Gordon Brown now Cherie Blair has got her book out

It's going to be a cold winter if gas goes up by 30%

Where will it all end ?
 
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