£260,000 in drain cover replacement costs for Walsall Council

Walsall Council have had to pay £47,000 to cover costs following the thefts of 161 drain covers across the borough this year.

Since 2018, a total of 1002 have been stolen, costing over £260,000.

The council says this also poses a dangerous risk to drivers and pedestrians.

The thefts can create a fatal hole that can be one meter or more deep.

Councillor Mike Bird, Leader of Walsall Council said: "That’s a vast sum of public money which we would rather spend on building more projects within the community and caring for the needs of our most vulnerable citizens and children.

"It’s frustrating to see so much resource spent on making repairs after criminals have left our highways in a hazardous state.

"I urge residents who witness this criminal activity in progress not to intervene for their own safety, but to report any information to the West Midlands Police as we will not hesitate to prosecute scrap metal dealers that accept our stolen property.

The council says thieves are currently targeting the Aldridge, Pelsall and Blakenall areas.

They say Highway Safety Inspectors are actively patrolling these areas to look for thefts, but the general public can also help by reporting any suspicious activity.

To assist law enforcement in finding and dealing with the criminals engaging in this activity, metal recyclers are urged to exercise caution and report any attempts to sell the covers to the police.

The council are urging any incidents to be reported online as a Highways Defect at go.walsall.gov.uk/report.