Plant machinery hire 'scam' sees 10 held in raids

Ten people have been arrested after nearly £700,000 of plant machinery was stolen across the UK, police have said.

Detectives said the scammers used fake ID to hire equipment without any intention of returning it.

Officers carried out dawn raids in Lancashire and made arrests in Padiham and Burnley.

Police said the thefts had taken place in Cheshire, Cumbria, Humberside, West Midlands, Lancashire, Hertfordshire, Avon and Somerset, Staffordshire, Merseyside, Derbyshire, North Yorkshire, West Mercia and Lincolnshire.

The list of stolen equipment was dominated by mechanical diggers, Cheshire Police said.

Six men, aged from 44 to 69, and four women, aged 29 to 36, have been arrested and are being questioned.

Det Sgt Graeme Carvell said the arrests were "the culmination of a detailed investigation into the theft of around £700,000 worth of plant equipment from suppliers across the UK".

He added: "We believe that those involved have been using false identifications in order to hire out plant equipment with no intent of ever returning the machines."

The investigation has been led by Cheshire Police, working with the specialist National Construction and Agriculture Theft Team and officers from Lancashire Police's rural crime unit.

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