Rogue scrap merchants were at the centre of a swoop by police cracking down on the sale of stolen metal in the Black Country.

Officers visited four scrapyards as part of an operation to close the net on metal thieves plaguing the region stealing from homes, factories and shops.

One man was arrested trying to sell stolen shopping trolleys for their metal value. Four synchronised operations targeting metal scrapyards in Brierley Hill, Dudley and Coseley were staged yesterday.

The raids, conducted as part of West Midlands-wide Operation Steel, were led by acting sergeant at Netherton Police Station Rob Dalton in a bid to try and weed out crooked dealers selling stolen metal.

He said: “We have done a number of operations like this around the area, and we organised this one as there has been a recent spate of metal thefts from homes, not just factories.

“Recently, we have had reports of shopping trolleys being stolen, lead flashings from people’s front porches, manhole covers and even a brass plate from a war memorial in Pensnett being stolen.”

Sgt Dalton went to Mason Metals Ltd scrapyard in Two Woods Lane, Brierley Hill, with two other police officers, four PCSOs and officers from Environmental Health and the Department for Work and Pensions.

They flagged down vans, trucks and private cars which looked like they might be carrying scrap metal, and within the first half-hour had picked up three potential benefit fraudsters on their way to sell metal while claiming.

Sgt Dalton then visited Mason Metals where managing director Andrew Jones said he supported the police operation. He added that increasing demand for metal meant prices – and therefore thefts – were on the rise.

Police also visited a scrapyard in Stone Lane, Brierley Hill, and two other yards in Dudley and Coseley. They stopped a total of 15 vans and found six were carrying waste without a licence.