AA reports a 6,760% explosion in catalytic converter thefts in 4 years Rob Hull For Thisismoney.co.uk © Provided by Daily Mail MailOnline logo
The AA has described the rise in catalytic converter thefts from vehicles as an explosion after reporting that its patrols attended almost 4,000 cases last year where emissions devices had been ripped from the underside of cars.
The vehicle recovery service said it was called to just 57 instances of broken down motors found to have had their catalytic converters stolen in 2017.
That figure rose to 3,910 in 2020 - a leap of 6,760 per cent over just four years.
The motoring group said it is now working with police and vehicle manufacturers to combat the crime wave, which has turned into a lucrative swindle for organised thieves, especially in the capital.
South East England trains delayed because thieves steal cables for scrap value
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South East England trains delayed because thieves steal cables for scrap value
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South East England trains delayed because thieves steal cables for scrap value
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POLICE caught a group of illegal scrap metal dealers who switched number plates to avoid getting stopped. Two men were spotted by Cherwell District Council s community safety team collecting scrap metal on Saturday, April 10 in Drayton, near Banbury. Following initial work with the police it was suspected that they were operating without the correct licences and without insurance for their large white transit van. Acting on information that the men would be in Bicester the next day, the community safety team searched Bicester estates and saw the driver and passenger from the previous day, plus a third man. They were loading scrap metal into the same van, which by now had different number plates.