Man jailed for stealing metal drain covers worth £42,000

A MAN has been jailed for stealing metal drain covers worth more than £42,000 from roads all over the Midlands, including Alcester.

Graham Leith, aged 27 from High Street, Studley, was jailed for three and a half years at Worcester Crown Court on Friday after he admitted stealing 170 drain covers over a three-month period.

The judge, Recorder John Steel QC, said that Leith had a wholly reckless disregard for the public and it was simply good luck that no-one had been injured.

PC Tom Birchley of West Mercia Police said: “Stealing drain covers and leaving gaping holes in the road clearly put members of the public at risk.

“As well as the obvious safety implications, the cost of replacing the drain covers was huge, and needed to be met from public funds.”

Leith carried out the thefts between November 2011 and January 2012.