Police are keen to trace the owners of metal they believe to have been stolen in the Wootton Bassett area.

Sergeant Simon Wright and his team of officers seized a number of scrap metal items from a white van at Porter Skip Hire, a metal recycling point in Christian Malford, at about 2pm on Friday.

The items include an animal feeding trough, two new sinks – one of which still has the blue protective layer on it – 30 sheets of corrugated iron, old drain pipes, parts of an old light blue cement mixer and three used radiators.

Two men aged 18 and 20 from Hook, near Wootton Bassett, have been arrested on suspicion of theft and released on police bail.

The police are keen to establish where the items, which have a scrap metal value of about £150 to £200, have come from.

Sgt Wright said: “Metal theft has increased in the last year, largely because prices are so high.

“The targets will range from individual properties to businesses, and thieves will take anything metal they can find such as old metal ornaments, catalytic converters, batteries, or even drain covers.

“Thieves will sell the metal by the load to scrap metal dealers, and will often get in excess of £100.”

He described the thefts as a serious nuisance and said the police and other agencies had got together to tackle the problem.

Special operations are being targeted on suspected thieves and Neighbourhood Policing Teams are working closely with scrap metal dealers to try and cut off the means of disposal.

In a separate metal-theft related incident, Inspector Chris Martin and PC Steve Burson were called to Studley Grange Garden Centre, Hay Lane, near Wootton Bassett, following reports that two men were stealing metal on Tuesday last week at about 12.30pm.

Two men from Bristol were arrested and charged with theft.