Hundreds of grids have been stolen from Stockport roads sparking fears of serious accidents.
The grids are taken to be sold as scrap – leaving gaping holes with Marple, Reddish and Heaton Moor being among the worst hit.
Stockport council admits that more than 200 grids or manhole covers have been stolen in the last six months and police are investigating.
But the real figure could be much higher, with one highways official saying up to 40 were disappearing EVERY day.
This is the map of missing grids as reported by our readers so far - You can use the form at the bottom of the page to report a missing grid in your area ...
Paul Keyworth, 44, of Heaton Moor, said: "As a father myself the main thing I am bothered about is kids coming home from school and falling down them.
"The grids tend to be taken from dark roads so people need to be aware. They are like bear traps and the consequences could be very serious."
Council workers are trying to keep up with the thefts and initially cone off the grid area before replacing the stolen metal one with a plastic version that has no scrap value.
This week there were holes at two places on Greg Street, Reddish, where grids had been stolen, one with a drop of three feet.
Both had been coned off, as had another on nearby Broadstone Hall Road South – a short walk from Broadstone Hall Primary school.
Kingsleigh Road and Cranbourne Road in Heaton Mersey have also been hit recently.
It is believed thieves are trying to sell the grids to scrap dealers, often throwing them in with other metal items as a cover.
Detective Inspector Kevin Dolan, from Stockport CID, said: "It is cyclical and there is a spate every now and then, usually when the price of raw materials rise.
"I would ask scrap dealers to be vigilant and for people to take care. The thefts can cause nasty injuries, particularly for cyclists."
The subject has been discussed at council meetings where it was said each grid costs up to £200 to replace.
And Adam Cunningham, an area conditions officer for the council, said as many as ‘40 grids and manhole covers were being stolen every day’.
A council spokesman said: "In the past six months there has been in excess of 200 covers stolen across the borough. We have been working closely with the police to take action and to keep Stockport’s roads safe.
"The council has responded to all enquiries and has been replacing the stolen covers, as and when they are reported, with heavy duty plastic covers that have no scrap value."
Use the form below to report a missing grid in your area ...
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could the council not replace all the grids with plastic ones before they are pinched,surley the scapping of the metal ones will pay for the plasic ones,and save our tax money
I would ask scrap dealers to be vigilant and for people to take care.
why don't the police do spot checks on these scrap dealers?
my wife saw this happen a couple of weeks ago on our road. A flatbed clearly marked scrap pulled up on the road - 1 guy jumped out and threw a grid in then ran down the road while the van followed and he did the same again. I can only assume that however many of these grids they have in their van is hidden among all the rest of the scrap.
How do you think they pay for the Big Fat Gypsy Weddings ?
Here is an idea, why not visit the scrap metal dealers at random every few days police or council the are not that many in the area, if you find any grids at all or memorial plaques lock them up for handling stolen property and a very heavy fine ! Then the scumbags stealing them will find it hard to sell them and stop doing it... Durrrrr.
Randomly stop scruffy flatback scrap vans or transit vans obviously heavy loaded as the are hundreds driving around Stockport, you will get lucky, think about it they would be doing it after night fall.
Melt down the unused wheelie bins into plastic grids. Two birds, one stone.
With all the cameras around the borough, you would have thought the cpuncil and police would have something to go on.
Stockport Council appear to be replacing the cast iron grid covers with old plastic traffic cones as indicated in the picture, furthermore the cone does not look a good fit for the hole. Perhaps replacing them with a flush fit cover would be preferable?
What is the point of reporting anything? The ones that I reported months ago have still not been replaced.
Also,it is clear that scrap dealers are colluding with the thieves since they clearly recognise drain covers when they are brought in.
Maybe the Police should pay closer attention to scrap dealers..maybe HMRC should go along with them when they do.
I fell down one of the grids on greg street reddish, and injured my knee i was also carrying a small child at the time luckily she wasnt hurt. As i got up a member of sk solutions turned up to place a cone over the grid but it was not replaced for another 2 weeks after by which time the cone had fallen down, i had been told the grid had been reported at 8.30 that morning but i fell down it at 6.30 that evening?
You will struggle to find a scrap yard accepting aluminium beer barrels any more - why not grids as well? Make it illegal for anyone to possess them unless they can show how they were obtained, prosecute the scrap yards if they are caught with any, and the thefts will stop immediately.