THREE scrapyards in Bolton were visited by police in a bid to track down metal thieves who steal copper wire from railways.

British Transport Police officers made surprise visits to the scrapyards yesterday to see if any of them had bought stolen metal.

Nothing illegal was found, and police praised all three scrapyards for being well-run.

The yards were Chadwick’s in Oakenbottom Road, Breightmet; Metro Salvage in Waterloo Street, Bolton; and P&G Metals in Darbishire Street, Bolton.

Maxilead Metals in Mossley Common Road, Tyldesley, was also searched and found to be clean and exemplary.

Detective Inspector Andrea Rainey said the purpose of the visits was as much about education and building relationships as detecting thefts.

She said: “It is difficult to proactively police the copper thefts that are an ongoing issue, but if there are no handlers, then thieves are going to find it more difficult to sell the metal they steal.

“Most scrapyards are legitimate and want to work with us, but some will take metal from anywhere and not ask any questions.”

Police also checked the scrapyards’ accounts and purchase logs.

By law, scrapyards have to keep records of the people who sell them scrap, as well as the registration numbers of any vehicles they use.