Bogus workmen pinch pavements

Watch your step: one of the Penarth streets stripped of its slabs

Brazen thieves posing as workmen are taking the ground from beneath a town's feet by stealing rare and valuable pavement slabs.

The slabs being targeted by bogus council staff dressed in familiar yellow jackets are thought to be sold to wealthy homeowners for driveways and courtyards.

At least 60 of the paving stones have disappeared during daylight hours from the south Wales seaside town of Penarth in the past month.

Vale of Glamorgan council has warned that the thefts could be putting people at risk of injury because of gaps in the pavement.

A council employee spotted people in an unmarked white van "working" on the pavement and reported the registration number, but the plates turned out to be false.

The more we can get the public to co-operate and help us, the better chance we have of stopping this Keith Jones

Council officers said people had contacted them to ask why the stones were being removed, only to find out the council knew nothing about it.

They believe the slabs are being stolen to order and sold outside the area.

Flashing lights

Council highways operational manager Keith Jones urged people to watch out for the thieves.

"It's a white transit van complete with flashing lights and people wearing yellow reflective jackets.

"One of our staff was out walking his dog and saw the vehicle, but the registration was false.

"If anybody sees people taking slabs in a van without the Vale of Glamorgan sign on it, ring 999 and report it straight away," he said.

Streets hit by slab thieves Kymin Terrace Stanwell Road Cliff Parade Pembroke Terrace

The pennant slabs are real stone rather than composite concrete ones. According to Mr Jones, they are no longer manufactured in Britain, and are extremely difficult and expensive to replace.

The first ones would have been laid when the houses in Penarth were being built in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

"It's lovely stuff. It's very difficult to lay and is an old skill which is dying out, but our workmen can do it," Mr Jones said.

The council would probably have to replace the stone with concrete or black bitumen.

"There's also the safety issues as well as the cost implications," he added.

"Pensioners could be walking around at night and not see a hole in the pavement caused by missing slabs.

"The more we can get the public to cooperate and help us, the better chance we have of stopping this."

The council has set up a number to report suspicions: 029 2067 3000.