SATELLITE tracking equipment is being used to trace thieves stealing metal from empty houses.

Electronic GPS devices have been fitted to metal fixtures like pipes and boilers inside properties in Tunstall and Fegg Hayes.

If the metal is stolen, its location can be tracked, helping police identify the offender.

It follows an increase in the number of empty properties being targeted by thieves looking for scrap metal to cash in.

Inspector Mark Hardern, commander of Tunstall Neighbourhood Policing Unit, said: "It's an area where there are a lot of terrace properties for sale or for rent, and vacant council houses.

"There are also some regeneration areas with void properties.

"We put the device on the boiler or anything metal in the house, and if it's stolen, we can track where it's gone, and therefore track the offender down.

"The message we want to get across to thieves is: 'we're after you, we know who you are and we will arrest you.'

"These thieves are causing danger for other people because water pipes and gas pipes can create a hazard for nearby properties if they are tampered with.

"We are working with Stoke-on-Trent City Council and landlords to solve the problem and this is one of many tactics we are trying.

"We would ask private landlords to do as much as they can to prevent access to their properties when they are empty."

The move is part of Staffordshire Police's Operation Amalgam. A specialist team was set up in April after the rising price of scrap metal led to a sharp increase in metal thefts.

To date, more than 100 offenders have been dealt with in a number of operations, carried out in partnership with other agencies.

Officers have recovered between £1.5 million and £2 million worth of stolen property. Successes include two offenders who were charged with £55,000 worth of theft and handling offences, and two separate offenders who were charged with 34 offences between them.

There are currently around 30 people on bail in relation to offences under Operation Amalgam.

Marie Mitchell, chairman of Fegg Hayes Residents' Association, welcomed the initiative.

"We have had more than our fair share of copper and boiler thefts in Fegg Hayes. There are areas where as soon as a property becomes empty they are going in, ripping metal out and causing a lot of damage.

"I think it's brilliant that the police are doing this – anything that will help stop these thefts is good."

A spokesman for Stoke-on-Trent City Council said: "We have had discussions with the police about metal being stolen from empty properties in the Tunstall area, and we are continuing to work with the them to combat crime and deter thefts."