SURREY Crimestoppers is joining forces with colleagues in Kent, Hampshire, Sussex and Thames Valley to tackle metal theft crime head-on in the south east.

County forces and the crime prevention group have launched Operation Torndado to target gangs and thieves taking copper, lead and other metals for their scrap value.

Operation Tornado will make it easier to trace any person who sells stolen material to scrap metal merchants and will help to prosecute dealers cashing in on the growing crime.

Metal theft is now one of the UK's fastest-rising crimes, costing the economy an estimated £770m each year.

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