Two men arrested after taking police ‘bait metal’

On Monday afternoon, Battle Police and Rother District Council left a piece of metal containing a tracker device in Northiam Road, Staplecross.

The tracker was activated at 1.25pm on Wednesday, which indicated that the ‘bait metal’ had been stolen.

Police and council officers traced the signal to Coronation Gardens in Robertsbridge.

Two men from Northiam were arrested at the scene on suspicion of theft and a vehicle was seized by police.

Meanwhile Rother Police enjoyed another success in Bexhill, following a series of recent cycle thefts.

On Tuesday morning a bike with a tracker attached was placed in Sidley.

It was stolen two hours later and tracked to an address in Bexhill.

A man was arrested on suspicion of theft by finding.

The 29-year-old, from Bexhill, admitted to the theft and was given a police caution.

Rother District Commander, Chief Inspector Katy Woolford, said: “These were great results and good work from all involved.

“I’d like to send this warning to thieves; don’t bother, we will catch you in Rother!

“The use of bait bicycles and other bait equipment, such as laptops, mobile phones and cars is becoming more and more common so a thief can never be sure whether they are stealing police property or not, is it worth risking it? I’d say not!

“These arrests, however, in no way means bicycle owners or those with metal on their buildings should become complacent.

“Please do as much as you can to deter theft, have your bike security marked at our many Operation Marker events across Rother District, ensure you have a secure lock and register it on www.immobilise.com.

“You can find out more about crime prevention on our website www.sussex.police.uk, by contacting your PC or PCSO on 101 or by meeting them at one of these events.”