New laws planned to tackle £12m metal theft boom

AN EDINBURGH cathedral is among the worst hit victims of rising metal theft which is now costing Scotland £12 million a year.

The Scottish Government is proposing new measures in the hope of making scrap metal easier to trace.

All metal dealers with a turn-over of £1 million or less would be expected to hold licences - a major increase.

And cash payments would be banned so transaction can always be traced back to the original supplier.

The measures are designed to protect repeat victims like St Mary’s Cathedral, in Edinburgh, which has been targeted nine times in two and a half years, with lead worth more than £40,000 stolen in total.

Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said: “This is plaguing communities across Scotland and it must be stopped.”

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