Copper thieves leave pensioners dry

COPPER pipes and taps have become the latest items on criminals’ ‘shopping lists’ in and around Marburg. This week, several pensioners have fallen prey to these ‘shoppers’ and have had their homes stripped, leaving them with hefty repair bills they can ill afford.

After almost a month of replacing pipes and taps, residents say they have had enough. It is thought that the copper thieves strike in the early hours of the morning and residents wake up to gushing water on their properties.

Several homeowners in Neptune and Venus Drives in Marburg Extension 14 were targeted this week, and one homeowner in Syringa Place had all the copper piping and taps stolen last week when the house was left vacant for a few days.

“The main culprits are the scrap yards which accept copper on a daily basis,” said one pensioner.”They are accepting copper pipes and taps because there is insufficient real scrap on the streets to sustain their businesses. It is costing us pensioners a fortune. There’s the inflated water bill, the purchase of the replacement copper piping and taps and the cost of a plumber to replace them.”

When those affected were asked if they had opened cases of theft at the police station, they replied that they had not. “In such cases the owners need to take responsibility and implement measures to safeguard their property,” said police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Zandra Wiid.

“We arrested someone in February who was found in possession of electrical cable. It is important that theft of copper pipes and copper taps is reported to the police in order for us to establish if there is a threat in a certain area and then to implement strategies to curb the problem,” she said.

She added that residents need to report bushy areas and overgrown verges as well as defective street lights to the authorities as these provide ample hiding places for criminals. “It is everyone’s responsibility to take the necessary steps to make their residential areas safer,” said Lt-Col Wiid.