A man scaled a number of buildings in Montrose and ripped lead flashing from the roof of flats.
The incident was described as “extremely disturbing” by local councillor David May, who is urging people to be vigilant and report any suspicious activity.
“It’s an extremely disturbing trend if that’s what happening, and I’m sure the police like myself will hope that information is passed on as quickly as possible to identify not only who had been involved in that incident,” he said.
“It definitely does seem to be on the increase although I’ve had no information passed onto directly to me by the local police about this. I would urge people to be vigilant.
“The police have been trying to increase the number of neighbourhood watch schemes so all local residents are involved in helping each other.
“They have been particularly keen to establish more and it would certain help local communities.”NoiseA loud noise was heard in the Glenlethnot Place area at about 12.10am on Thursday, and a man was seen standing on the roof area of the buildings and acting suspiciously. He was there up until about 12.50am.
A number of flats suffered the removal of lead flashing.
There has been a rise in scrap metal thefts around the country, with thieves targetting lead, copper and bronze.
Lead theft is currently spiralling out of control, and with the cost of the metal set to remain at record highs, the problem shows no sign of going away soon.
The cost of metal theft to UK firms is estimated at about £770m per year.
On the railways there have seen significant delays and cancellations as a result of thieves cutting and taking signalling and power cables from the side of the track.
There have also been incidents around the UK in which homes, businesses and even hospitals have suffered power cuts and surges as a result of criminals stealing copper from power stations.
Metal thieves have also been taking manhole covers, domestic gas pipes and lead flashing from homes and churches.
Photo used under Creative Commons licence courtesy of Flickr user Unhindered by Talent.