COPPER worth hundreds of pounds has been stolen from vans around the Forest.

Four out of the 11 reported cases of thefts from vehicles recently involved copper tubing being stolen from roof carriers.

Lengths of copper piping were stolen from three vans in Highnam and Newent on Tuesday, February 1 while copper valued at £50 was taken from the roof of a van in a car park in Newent last Wednesday.

In all the cases, padlocks were broken in order to steal the copper.

Rich Boyles, Police Inspector for the Forest, said: "This just goes to show once again that metal is an extremely attractive commodity for thieves at the moment and that they are not going to be fussy about how they get it.

"The victims are plumbers who need the copper for their day to day work and will have been seriously inconvenienced by the losses.

"We would urge people to use padlocks and park in well-lit, busy areas. If you can, the best solution is to lock your copper away indoors when you don't need it."

Copper remains very valuable at $9,424 per tonne, despite a recent drop in price caused by fears that unrest in the Middle East could harm economic recovery.

Anyone with information on any metal theft in the Forest should call Gloucestershire Police on 0845 090 1234, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.