HAMPSHIRE Police have launched Operation Tornado in an attempt to nail metal thieves.

The initiative comes after a rise in the theft of various metals locally and nationally.

A recent spate of thefts, ranging from lead flashing and copper piping to cast steel drain covers, has highlighted how Alton and its surrounding villages are targeted as fiercely as other regions.

In Alton itself, St Lawrence School, Alton Assembly Rooms and even the Oxfam shop have been victims of lead theft, leaving roofs exposed to the elements.

And rail travellers have seen their journeys disrupted after metal cabling was stripped from beside the track while some 20 metres of heavy duty armoured copper cabling was stolen from a sub-station in Mill Lane and a quantity of copper piping and electrical cable removed from an unoccupied commercial warehouse on the same trading estate.

For full story, see this week's Alton Herald.