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Almost 100,000 thefts of catalytic converters have been recorded in three years, with criminals across the UK stealing 75 per day in 2022, new data obtained by Sky News reveals.

The emissions devices, which often contain valuable precious metals, are worth up to £600 on the black market. It is why in the 12 months from December 2021, criminals stole 28,000 catalytic converters.

CCTV shared with Sky News from police forces and victims of this crime shows how quick and brazen thieves are, stealing catalytic converters wherever they can find them at whatever time of day.

The knock-on effects and wide-ranging impact can be devastating.

Margaret Wright from Wigan has not just had it happen to her once, but three times in two years.

The Motability vehicle she shares with her husband was left unusable for weeks when the catalytic converter was stolen in September 2022.

She told Sky News: “It sounds really extreme to say I was on the edge the last time it happened, but I really was because we don’t earn a lot of money, we don’t have a great deal of things so for somebody to come along and in a matter of minutes do that, it changes your life. It impacts so hard and mentally it’s very hard to take.”

With a disabled husband and a 50-mile round trip to work, the impact of what seems like a minor crime has been immense.

“I feel so awful for my husband more than myself because it’s his lifeline,” Mrs Wright said. “I’ve got the ability to get buses and trains but for him, he can’t get out during the day. It’s very disabling for something that was there to help his mobility, that person is now again disabled.”

Margaret Wright from Wigan has had catalytic converters stolen three times in two years
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Margaret Wright from Wigan has had catalytic converters stolen three times in two years

Some 97,023 catalytic converters were stolen from the beginning of 2020 to 30 November 2022, according to OPAL, the National Intelligence Unit for Serious Organised Acquisitive Crime and a Sky News Freedom of Information request.

The worst affected area is London, but positive police action has seen thefts drop slightly in the capital since 2020.

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Police watchdog condemns low burglary and theft clear-up rates

The data alone may be alarming, but it has to be taken into account that this is a crime hugely underreported and in reality there are many more catalytic converters stolen than on record – meaning many more lives deeply impacted.

But the theft is only one element of a chain of crimes involving these devices which are so sought after.

James Kelly, head of the British Metal Recycling Association, told Sky News: “Inside catalytic converters there are this set of platinum metals: rhodium, palladium and platinum and they are extremely valuable.

“They can be up to £4,000 a troy ounce which is equivalent to about 31 grams and that could equate to about six or seven catalytic converters.”

James Kelly, head of the British Metal Recycling Association
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James Kelly, head of the British Metal Recycling Association

Because of their value they have become an attractive target for criminals and organised crime, it is why police forces are using covert operations to try to clamp down on the buying, selling and stealing of this car part.

Supt Mark Cleland is the UK police’s metal crime lead. He told Sky News: “Last year, in the first two weeks of an operation we reduced crime by 50% nationally. But still 30,000 offences over the last 12 months, and we need as much information about who is involved. Either the public have an idea or the waste industry has an idea.

“That information is absolutely critical to help us catch and lock up people. In another operation we recovered over 2,000 stolen catalytic converters, so we’re doing the work, we just need that critical intelligence and information to help do our jobs even better.”

Supt Mark Cleland is the UK police's metal crime lead
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Supt Mark Cleland is the UK police’s metal crime lead

Despite police efforts, the majority of catalytic converter thefts go unsolved and whilst it may be a lucrative crime for those involved, for a single mum of three whose car was targeted, the financial repercussions are crippling.

Claire Gregan had her catalytic converter stolen whilst her car was parked at university in Lancashire in November 2022.

She told Sky News: “They may as well have come in and ransacked the house because that car was my lifeline. It was a BMW 1 Series, it was 14 years old, it was worth £1,200. I don’t have much, I’m on my own with three children, putting myself through university to better our lives. And then you’re given a bill of nearly £1,000. Every way I looked for a solution, I was faced with more of a challenge financially.”

With the risk of a higher insurance premium and the chance of thieves targeting her car again, Ms Gregan scrapped the BMW and was forced to take a £4,000 loan to buy a new car.

She added: “They couldn’t have done anything worse. What they did in those few minutes, I’m probably not going to get back level with finances until summer 2023. It completely destroyed me and has left me in such a mess.”

Claire Gregan had her catalytic converter stolen whilst her car was parked at university in Lancashire in November 2022
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Claire Gregan

As the crime has risen, so too has the price to replace catalytic converters. It is something the AA has noticed as callouts for this problem are increasingly common.

Patroller Sean Sidley said: “It has a huge impact on people because these catalytic converters aren’t cheap to buy from the manufacturers.

“Some customers can fork out as much as £1,500 just to get their car back on the road. I’ve seen some dealerships that are taking quite a while to get them in stock. Getting them across to the UK from Asia has been quite difficult.”

Sean Sidley, AA patroller
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Sean Sidley, AA patroller

On the face of it, it may look like just a small offence, but these thefts are being carried out on a large scale. At every juncture of this crime, it is clear the criminals are not letting up – leaving victims helpless, vulnerable and with consequences often irreversible.

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Child who died in Minehead school coach crash was 10-year-old boy, police say

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Child who died in Minehead school coach crash was 10-year-old boy, police say

The child who died in a school coach crash in Somerset on Thursday was a 10-year-old boy, Avon and Somerset Police have said.

A specially trained officer is supporting the child’s family, the force said, adding that two children taken to Bristol Royal Hospital for Children by air ambulance remain there as of Friday.

Four children and three adults also remain in hospital in Somerset.

There were between 60 to 70 people on board when the incident happened near Minehead, just before 3pm on Thursday.

The coach was heading to Minehead Middle School when it crashed on the A396 between Wheddon Cross and Timbercombe.

Flowers outside school
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Pic: PA

Police said that 21 people were taken to hospital, including two children who were taken via air ambulance.

Gavin Ellis, chief fire officer for Devon and Somerset, said the coach “overturned onto its roof and slid approximately 20ft down an embankment”.

Rachel Gilmour, MP for Tiverton and Minehead, said the road where it happened is “very difficult to manoeuvre”.

“You have a very difficult crossing at Wheddon Cross, and as you come out to dip down into Timbercombe, the road is really windy and there are very steep dips on either side,” she told Sky’s Anna Botting.

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Tearful MP reacts to coach crash

It comes after a teacher at Minehead Middle School praised the “incredibly brave” pupils for supporting each other after the coach crash.

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“You have looked after each [other] in what was a life-changing event, we will get through this together,” they wrote on Facebook.

“I feel so lucky to be your teacher. I am so grateful to my wonderful colleagues during this time who were also fighting to help as many people as we could.”

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Woman handed criminal conviction despite ‘unlawful’ strip search by police in Greater Manchester

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Woman handed criminal conviction despite 'unlawful' strip search by police in Greater Manchester

Maria’s treatment by Greater Manchester Police (GMP) was so shocking the chief constable described it as “undefendable” and yet a year after a high-profile inquiry found she had been “unlawfully” arrested and strip-searched, Maria now has a criminal conviction for the crime the inquiry said she should never have been arrested for.

Warning: This story includes graphic descriptions of strip searches and references to domestic violence.

The Baird Inquiry – named after its lead Dame Vera Baird – into GMP, published a year ago, found that the force made numerous unlawful arrests and unlawful strip searches on vulnerable women. A year on, the review has led to major changes in police processes.

Strip searches for welfare purposes, where the person is deemed at risk of harming themselves, are banned, and the mayor’s office told Sky News only one woman was intimately strip-searched to look for a concealed item by GMP last year.

Women had previously told Sky News the practice was being used by police “as a power trip” or “for the police to get their kicks”.

However, several women who gave evidence to the Baird Inquiry have told Sky News they feel let down and are still fighting for accountability and to get their complaints through the bureaucracy of a painfully slow system.

The case of Maria (not her real name) perhaps best illustrates how despite an inquiry pointing out her “terrible treatment”, she continues to face the consequences of what the police did.

'Maria' said she was treated like a piece of meat by GMP
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‘Maria’ said she was treated like a piece of meat by GMP

‘Treated like a piece of meat’

The story begins with an act of poor service. A victim of domestic violence, Maria went to the police to get keys off her arrested partner but was made to wait outside for five-and-a-half hours.

The Baird Inquiry said: “This domestic abuse victim, alone in a strange city, made 14 calls for police to help her.

“She was repeatedly told that someone would contact her, but nobody did. The pattern didn’t change, hour after hour, until eventually she rang, sobbing and angry.”

The police then arrested her for malicious communications, saying she’d sworn at staff on the phone.

Inside the police station, officers strip-searched her because they thought she was concealing a vape. Maria told Sky News she was “treated like a piece of meat”.

The Baird Inquiry says of the demeaning humiliation: “Maria describes being told to take all her clothes off and, when completely naked, to open the lips of her vagina so the police could see inside and to bend over and open her anal area similarly.”

GMP's Chief Constable Stephen Watson
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Chief Constable Stephen Watson said the actions towards Maria were ‘inexplicable’

After the inquiry found all this not only “terrible” but “unlawful”, Chief Constable Stephen Watson described the actions of his officers towards Maria as “an inexplicable and undefendable exercise of police power”.

He added: “We’ve done the wrong thing, in the wrong way and we’ve created harm where harm already existed.”

Despite all of this, the charges of malicious communication were not dropped. They hung over Maria since her arrest in May 2023. Then in March this year, magistrates convicted her of the offence, and she was fined.

Dame Vera’s report describes the arrest for malicious communications as “pointless”, “unlawful”, “not in the public interest” and questions whether the officer had taken “a dislike to Maria”. Yet, while Maria gained a criminal record, no officer has been disciplined over her treatment.

A GMP spokesperson said: “The court has tested the evidence for the matter that Maria was arrested for, and we note the outcome by the magistrate. We have a separate investigation into complaints made about the defendant’s arrest and her treatment whilst in police custody.”

The complaint was referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) in August 2023 and Maria was told several months ago the report was completed, but she has not heard anything since.

Dame Vera Baird of the Baird Inquiry into GMP
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Dame Vera Baird’s report catalogues the ‘unlawful’ arrest and strip search of various individuals by GMP

‘There’s been no accountability’

Dame Vera’s report also catalogues the “unlawful” arrest and strip search of Dannika Stewart in October 2023 at the same police station. Dannika is still grinding through the police complaints service to get a formal acknowledgement of their failings.

She told Sky News: “Everyone involved in it is still in the same position. There’s been no accountability from the police. We’re still fighting the complaint system, we’re still trying to prove something which has already been proved by an independent inquiry.”

Body cam footage of Dannika Stewart being arrested in October 2023
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Body cam footage of Dannika Stewart being arrested

Asked if anyone had been disciplined, Chief Constable Watson told Sky News: “There are ongoing investigations into individual failings, but for the most part the Baird review talked about systemic failings of leadership, it talked of failings in policy and failings of systems.

“In some cases, those people who may have misconducted themselves at the level of professional standards have retired. There are no criminal proceedings in respect of any individual.”

He added: “Every single element of the Baird inquiry has been taken on board – every single one of those recommendations has been implemented – we believe ourselves to be at the forefront of practice.”

Greater Manchester Police bulding and logo

‘It’s been three years’

Mark Dove who was also found by the inquiry to have been unlawfully arrested three times and twice unlawfully stripped-searched says he’s been in the complaints system for three years now.

He told Sky News: “There have been improvements in that I’m being informed more, but ultimately there’s no timeline. It’s been three years, and I have to keep pushing them. And I’ve not heard of anyone being suspended.”

Mark Dove was found by the Baird Inquiry to have been unlawfully arrested three times
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Mark Dove was found to have been unlawfully arrested three times and unlawfully strip-searched twice

Sophie (not her real name), a domestic violence victim who was also found by the review team to have been unlawfully arrested by GMP, told Sky News that although most of her complaints were eventually upheld they had originally been dismissed and no officer has faced any consequences.

She said: “They put on record that I’d accepted a caution when I hadn’t – and then tried to prosecute me. Why has no one been disciplined? These are people’s lives. I could have lost my job. Where is the accountability?”

Since the Baird Inquiry, every strip search by GMP is now reviewed by a compliance team. GMP also provides all female suspects in custody with dignity packs including sanitary products, and they work with the College of Policing to ensure all officers are trained to recognise and respond to the effects of domestic and sexual trauma on survivors.

Kate Green, deputy mayor for Greater Manchester for policing and crime
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Kate Green, deputy mayor for Greater Manchester for policing and crime

The deputy mayor for Greater Manchester for policing and crime, Kate Green, says the lessons of the Baird Inquiry should reach all police forces.

She said: “I would strongly recommend that other forces, if they don’t already follow GMP’s practise in not conducting so-called welfare strip searches, similarly cease to carry out those searches. It’s very difficult to see how a traumatising search can be good for anybody’s welfare, either the officers or the detainees. We’ve managed to do that now for well over a year.”

Ms Green also suggests a national review of the police complaints system.

Read more:
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What Baird Inquiry revealed

Deputy Chief Constable Terry Woods, of GMP, said: “Our reformed Professional Standards Directorate (PSD) has increased the quality of complaints handling and improved timeliness.

“Where officers have been found to breach our standards then we have not hesitated to remove them from GMP, with more than 100 officers being dismissed on the chief constable’s watch.

“Out of 14 complaints relating to Dame Vera’s report, four have been completed. Our PSD continues to review and investigate the other complaints.

“We’re committed to being held to account for our use of arrests and our performance in custody.

“By its nature, custody has – and always will be – a challenging environment.

“However, basic provisions and processes must always be met and, while we’re confident our progress is being recognised across policing, we stand ready to act on feedback.”

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One child dies after coach crashes in Somerset on way back from school trip

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One child dies after coach crashes in Somerset on way back from school trip

One child has died after a coach bringing children back from a school trip crashed and overturned near Minehead, Somerset, police have said.

A major incident was declared after the vehicle, which had 60-70 people on board, crashed on the A396 Cutcombe Hill, between Wheddon Cross and Timbercombe, shortly before 3pm on Thursday afternoon.

The coach was heading to Minehead Middle School at the time.

At a news conference on Thursday night, officials confirmed one child died at the scene.

A further 21 patients were taken to hospital, including two children who were transported via air ambulance. “Several” other people were treated at the scene, they added.

A police officer near the scene of a coach crash in Somerset. Pic: PA
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A police officer near the scene of the coach crash in Somerset. Pic: PA

“This has been an incredibly challenging scene for all emergency services,” Chief Superintendent Mark Edgington said.

“Today’s events are truly tragic, we know the whole community and wider area will be utterly devastated to learn of this news.”

An investigation into what caused the crash will be carried out, he added.

Gavin Ellis, the chief fire officer for Devon and Somerset Fire & Rescue Service, said the coach “overturned onto its roof and slid approximately 20ft down an embankment”.

He praised an off-duty firefighter who was travelling behind the vehicle for helping at the scene, before crews then arrived to carry out rescues “in extremely difficult circumstances”.

“I’m grateful for the tireless effort and actions of the crews in doing everything they could for those who were trapped and as quickly as safely as possible,” he said.

“I’m extremely proud of the efforts that my firefighters took today at this tragic event.”

Eight fire engines were sent to the scene, with two specialist rescue appliances and around 60 fire personnel, Mr Ellis said.

A total of 20 double-crewed ambulances, three air ambulances and two hazardous area response teams were also sent to the scene, a representative for the South Western Ambulance Service said.

Emergency services near the scene in Minehead
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Pic: PA

Ch Supt Mark Edgington said: “Many passengers either sustained minor injuries or were physically unharmed and were transferred to a rest centre.

“Work to help them return to Minehead has been taking place throughout the evening.

“An investigation into the cause of this incident will be carried out.”

Minehead Middle School has pupils aged between nine and 14, and is five days away from the end of term.

‘I don’t have words,’ says local MP

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‘From one mother to another, I feel your pain’

Rachel Gilmour, MP for Tiverton and Minehead, has said the road where the coach crashed is “very difficult to manoeuvre”.

Speaking to Sky News chief presenter Anna Botting, Ms Gilmour said she visited Minehead Middle School recently, where she “met the children and they were full of joy, enthusiasm and were very positive”.

“I know many of their parents,” she said. “I don’t have words.”

Describing the scene, Gilmour continued: “You have a very difficult crossing at Wheddon Cross, and as you come out to dip down into Timbercombe, the road is really windy and there are very steep dips on either side.

“If the coach, as the police are saying, went 20ft off the road, you are literally on a really, really steep bank.”

The MP, whose constituency is partly in Devon and partly in Somerset, said there is a “really, really close community”.

“We will pull together, but it would be crass of me to say to a parent who’s just lost their child that I could make things better, I can’t,” she said.

“All I can say is that from one mother to another, I feel your pain.”

Cutcombe Hill near Minehead, where the accident took place. Pic: Google Maps
Image:
Cutcombe Hill near Minehead, where the accident took place. Pic: Google Maps

Sir Keir Starmer said in a post on X: “There are no adequate words to acknowledge the death of a child. All my thoughts are with their parents, family and friends, and all those affected.

“Thank you to the emergency workers who are responding at pace – I’m being kept up to date on this situation.”

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson wrote: “It is heartbreaking to hear that a child has died and others are seriously injured following the incident in Minehead earlier today.

“My thoughts are with their friends and families, and all those affected by this tragic event.”

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