ELEVEN people were arrested, seven vehicles seized and fines were handed out as part of two days of action against metal theft. The operation, which was part of a nationwide crackdown, took place on Monday and yesterday (July 7 and 8) and involved about

ELEVEN people were arrested, seven vehicles seized and fines were handed out as part of two days of action against metal theft.

The operation, which was part of a nationwide crackdown, took place on Monday and yesterday (July 7 and 8) and involved about 45 officers across the force.

It was part of Operation Saruman and also involved officers and staff from local authorities, the Environment Agency, HM Revenue and Customs and EDF Energy.

Fines totalling £1,500 were handed out for waste offences, £1,000 for using red diesel and HM Revenue and Customs took 30 names for investigation.

The majority of the arrests were on suspicion of metal theft.

Detective Inspector Andy Gipp, who leads Saruman, said: "The aim of the days of action was to arrest or disrupt those people suspected of stealing metal and I am confident this was achieved.

"There were about 50 arrests nationwide over the two days and Cambridgeshire accounted for more than a fifth of these, which is very pleasing.

"Similar operations will continue in the future and I would again urge members of the public to continue providing us with information about suspicious activity."

Operation Saruman was launched in September last year in response to a dramatic increase in thefts of metal, particularly lead and copper.

There are currently just over 100 offences every month in Cambridgeshire and so far this year police have made more than 80 arrests.