Two arrested after suspected chop shop found

Officers found a large amount of car parts, which were being examined to see if their origins could be traced

Two men have been arrested after a vehicle that had been stripped of parts was traced to a suspected chop shop.

West Midlands Police said it was called to a lock-up in Tanworth Lane, Shirley, Solihull, on Tuesday after a stolen van was tracked there.

Officers found a large amount of car parts, which were being examined to see if their origins could be traced, the force said.

Two men aged 46 and 40 have been arrested.

Det Insp Mark Heard, from Solihull local policing area, said: "We know the inconvenience and frustration car theft and car cannibalism can cause and we are determined to take action against this type of crime."

Chop shops are illegal garages where stolen cars are stripped for parts which are then sold on or used to repair other stolen vehicles.

A BBC investigation last year found that cars parked in Birmingham city centre had been stripped of parts in a spate of separate thefts.

Drivers from other areas of the city have also reported car-stripping, with some thefts happening during the day and from outside their homes.