SCRAP dealers have praised a police crackdown on metal thieves in the New Forest.

Dozens of pick-up trucks, vans, HGVs and cars towing boats and caravans were stopped in spot checks being carried out by Hampshire’s Country Watch team at New Park in Lyndhurst.

Any drivers who were transporting scrap metal were investigated, while vehicles that were overweight or travelling whilst having faulty lights, were temporarily removed from the road.

Legitimate scrap metal dealers say the police checks are a positive step in moves to regulate the industry, which has been hit recently by a number of buildings being targeted by metal thieves.

Mark Crowther, an employee at New Forest-based LR Jones Scrap Metal Merchants, who was one of the drivers pulled over by the police during the checks, said: “The people that are dealing in metal illegally are the ones taking work off of us and it needs to stop.

“Anything that can be done to improve the industry is good news.

“Even we get stuff stolen off of us.

“We must have had about £4,000-worth of metal stolen from us in the last four years.”

The operation also involved a number of different representatives from HM Revenue and Customs, BT Openreach and also a vehicle examination unit which was handled by the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency.

PC David Ahern, who led the police operation, said two spot checks would take place every month across the New Forest in order to crack down on metal thieves.