Onekawa and Pandora industrial area Community Constable Mike Byrne has appealed to property owners to cover, hide or get rid off scrap metal they may have lying about in clear view.
"Scrap continues to be a desirable item for burglars and reducing any that you don't need laying around theplace reduces the chance of being targeted by burglars."
Mr Byrne said he had noticed a lot of yards in the industrial area with heaps of scrap on them. It was an invitation for people who had no right to go on to the properties to go on to them, he said.
"If you are in an industry which has accumulated lots of scrap through various ventures, but not likely to use it because you don't generally work with metals then consider taking a trip to your local scrap merchant with it."
Thefts of steel and scrap metal continued to occur, with one incident last year in which a youth was caught taking car rims, resulting in a car being discovered with its boot filled with stolen metal items.
