Rotherham: Ride-on lawnmower among £150,000 stolen goods haul

Items stolen from multiple burglaries and thefts were seized and returned to owners

Thousands of pounds worth of stolen goods including a ride-on lawnmower have been uncovered by police in a crackdown on metal thefts.

Items worth a total of £150,000 were found by British Transport Police (BTP) during raids at waste sites near railway lines in South Yorkshire.

BTP said the lawnmower owner would have had to close his business if the machine had not been recovered.

A £25,000 woodchipper was also seized during the raids in Rotherham.

Another raid was also carried out in North Lincolnshire where a stolen industrial cleaner worth £4,500 was recovered.

Supt Mark Cleland said: "The waste sector is key to keeping the country running and we continue to support those who run legitimate businesses.

"For everyone else, we're looking at you, we'll continue to make arrests, seize criminal assets and shut down illegal operations."