THIEVES have been breaking into a council tip in order to get their hands on abandoned electrical goods, police have revealed.

There have been 12 thefts at the tip in Henthorn Road, Clitheroe, over the past two months and officers said they were determined to crackdown on the bizarre incidents.

Disused electrical good such as kettles, toasters, microwaves and other household goods have gone missing from the Lancashire County Council run site and police believe they are getting sold on.

Sgt Rob Evans of Clitheroe Police said: “We believe the offenders are coming in to Clitheroe from outside the town to get their hands on these items.

“They are becoming a real nuisance and are getting into the site by snipping the wire fences which obviously has cost implications and is a problem for everyone involved.

“We do not want these kind of people coming into the town and will do all we can to track them down.”

Sgt Evans said extra patrols would be taking place in the Henthorn Road area of the town in a bid to catch the culprits.

He added: “It could be that these people are trying to sell on the electrical goods at carboot sales or other venues so I would ask people to be wary when they are offered these goods.

“If they have any suspicions that what they are being offered could be stolen then we would ask them to contact us.

“We would rather check it out than not look into it at all.”

Sgt Evans also called on Clitheroe residents to ring police if they saw any suspicious behaviour in and around the Henthorn Road tip.

Clitheroe Police station can be contacted on 01200 443344 or Crimestoppers - anonymously and free - on 0800 555111.