Where Newcastle and the North East rank as copper theft hotspots are revealed

A new study into copper theft across the country has listed Northumbria as one of the worst areas in the UK for the crime.

Data obtained in new research from building specialists Roofing Megastore has shown that Northumbria police is the fourth-worst place for copper theft in the UK.

Through a Freedom of Information request to UK police forces, statistics revealed total reported thefts over a five-year period in various parts of the UK.

While Lancashire Constabulary reported the most thefts with 2,712 across the roughly five-year period, Northumbria was listed in fourth.

The region was just 119 behind third-place Kent, whose officers reported a total of 1,559 thefts in relation to copper and lead.

Northumbria tallied up 1,440 copper and lead-related thefts over the course of the last five years.

Within Northumbria, a breakdown showed that Houghton was the area that housed the most thefts, with 439 reported.

That, compared to second place Sunderland Central with 85 reported, put Houghton far ahead of neighbouring areas.

Jesmond and Heaton ranked fourth on the local breakdown, with 59 reported copper and lead thefts.

Gian-Carlo Grossi, Managing Director at Roofing Megastore, said: “The first step when you discover you’ve been robbed is always to report it to the police, either by phone or online.

“Following this, you’ll need to determine what impact the missing lead may have on your property.

“For example, missing lead, particularly if located at an abutment to a wall, could quickly result in water ingress.

“If left unfixed, this could cost damage that can easily cost thousands of pounds to put right, and may also cause structural issues over time.”