Police will be taking part in 'Op Tornado' today, a day of action to crack down on metal theft.

The operation is a national policing response to the theft of metal in the UK, after increases in global metal prices has made metal a "very attractive commodity to both opportunist thieves and organised crime groups".

The current national estimate of the value of metal theft is in excess of £770 million a year.

Checkpoints are being set up using ANPR cameras to help identify "possible vehicles of interest".

MPC Richard Juniper, the deputy lead for Operation Tornado, said: “When dealing with metal theft there’s a broad spectrum of crime that goes on. The theft of network cables, gas cylinders and kegs are prevalent, as is theft of metal items essential to modern infrastructure.

“Catalytic converters from vehicle exhaust systems remain a target for thieves. Located on the underside of a vehicle, a catalytic converter takes the harmful chemicals out of the exhaust. The converters contain precious metals and as a result are very valuable.

Police will be working with partner agencies ranging from HM Roads Fuels Unit and HMRC Hidden Economy Teams.