Police hunt four men over spate of catalytic converter thefts

Police have released CCTV images of four men they would like to speak to in connection with a spate of catalytic converter thefts across Tameside.

Shortly before 1.30pm on 16 October 2020, police were called to reports of a catalytic converter theft on Gorse Hall Road in Dukinfield, which is believed to be linked to a number of other Catalytic Converter thefts within the Tameside area.

Enquiries have established that four men - one of which was wielding a metal bar - used a jack to steal a catalytic converter from the underside of a Honda CRV which was parked on the road, before making off towards Hyde in a grey Audi with the catalytic converter.

Less than 10 minutes later, the men attempted to steal a second catalytic converter from a Mitsubishi Colt on Newman Street in Hyde, however they were disturbed by the victim and made off empty handed.

No arrests have been made and enquiries are ongoing.

Police Constable Ashlea Young, of GMP's Tameside division, said: "This is a horrendous theft which has resulted in an innocent member of the community being left, not only significantly out of pocket due to the large amount of money she has had to spend on vehicle repairs, but also without her only mode of transport.

"I would like to reassure the community that we treat thefts of this nature very seriously. Dedicated neighbourhood policing teams are patrolling identified hot spots. In addition, targeted days of action have been conducted with the aim of tackling these threats and raising community awareness.

"We are keen to speak to anyone who may have any information at all about these thefts, or the men pictured in these images. We also ask that the public remain vigilant and report any suspicious motor vehicle activity that they may see to the police straight away."

Anyone with information should call police on 0161 856 9225, quoting incident number 1341 of 16/10/2020. Details can be passed anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.