Residents returning to their homes in a quiet street in the West Midlands knew something was wrong but could not quite put their finger on it. Or their hands.

It was only when they went to open their doors that they realised the brass handles had been stolen, along with their house numbers.

The thefts are being carried out by organised gangs across the country who are stealing tens of millions of pounds of metal to feed the boom in the construction industry in China and India.

The thefts have become so widespread that the Association of Chief Police Officers is preparing guidance for chief constables warning them of the problem.

With demand for lead at a 27-year high and copper quadrupling in price in two years, gangs are going to dangerous lengths to secure their haul and nowhere, it seems, is safe.

A magistrates’ court in the West Midlands lost £1,000 of lead from the roof, disrupting proceedings as water began pouring through. Detectives in the area have recently targeted the metal thieves and arrested more than 260 people.

British Transport Police, who have been aware of the problem for some time, have also arrested several hundred suspects in connection with the theft of lead, copper and steel.

They have found evidence that cabling has been stolen by thieves who have risked touching 25,000-volt overhead lines to get to it.

In the West Midlands over the summer, 19 schools had their roofs stolen and thieves broke into eight Ford Focus cars and stole the catalytic converters for their nickel, ignoring laptops, stereos and CD players inside. A bus shelter was also stolen.

The brass doorknobs were stolen in a 15-minute blitz in a street in Wednesbury and, as well as not being able to get in, residents could not get out as the inside handle would not turn.

One of the most valuable hauls was made three days ago, in the Forge Lane area of Dudley, when a heavy-goods lorry was stolen and the £50,000 load of copper reels taken.

Officers did not have to go far to find two men who decided to steal copper piping from a house. They sat down for a cigarette mid-theft and forgot that they had not turned the gas off. The house blew up and they spent six months in a burns unit.

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