Metal thieves struck hundreds of times in Wiltshire last year, new figures reveal.
The Local Government Association has called for councils to be given more powers to tackle rogue traders who deal in the spoils of metal heists.
Wiltshire Police recorded 290 metal theft offences in 2019-20, Office for National Statistics data shows.
Of those, 121 were infrastructure-related, which includes the stripping of metal such as roofing lead from buildings, taking electricity or railway cables, or stealing vehicle parts.
The rest were non-infrastructure related, which could involve stealing scrap metal or war memorial plaques.
Around 15,900 metal theft offences were recorded across England and Wales in 2019-20.
This was down slightly on the previous year, although Greater Manchester Police did not submit figures, which could account for the drop.
The LGA said a decline was partly due to the introduction of the Scrap Metal Dealers Act in 2013.
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