Lib Dems Call for Action as Thefts of Drain Covers in Manchester Increase Tenfold in a Year!

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Fri 11th Jul 2008

Lib Dems Call for Action to Reduce Drain Thefts Waste of Money

John Cameron and Iain Donaldson, Liberal Democrat Councillor for Burnage Ward, are calling for swift action to save council taxpayers thousands of pounds in the face of an epidemic of drain cover thefts across Manchester.

Figures uncovered by the Liberal Democrats show that the number of thefts in Manchester in less than the first quarter of this financial year stand at a little under 500, compared to a little over 200 for the whole of the last financial year.

Now Councillors Cameron and Donaldson are calling for the Council to take action to stop the thefts happening, instead of waiting for them to happen, as happens at present.

Councillor John Cameron said:

"We always report things like graffiti, broken streetlights and potholes that we notice when we are out and about in Burnage. We noticed that we were reporting more and more missing drain grid covers from the area's streets. These missing covers are stolen for scrap, which has a high value at the moment. The trouble is that when they are stolen a dangerous hole is left that could cause serious injuries to pedestrians."

Councillor Iain Donaldson added:

"When we report these missing covers, the City Council replaces them with non-metallic ones, which do not get stolen as they have no scrap value. What we have suggested is that they start to replace the metal covers in areas where there are lots of thefts before they get stolen, not after. That way the City Council would at least be able to accrue the value of the metal to spend on council services, instead of just waiting for the thieves to steal them all. It would also remove the trip hazard being caused for pedestrians."

ENDS

Notes to editors:

The total number of gully tops replaced last financial year [2007 /08] was 220.

The total number of gully tops replaced this year, in nearly the first quarter of the year (up to 26/06/08) totals 497.