Thieves hunting for valuable scrap metal have been sawing off car exhaust pipes in the latest crime “craze” sweeping Bradford district.

Garage bosses today said they have lost thousands of pounds in the last month alone because of thieves stealing catalytic converters to sell on to unscrupulous scrap dealers.

The eco-friendly converters contain precious metals – including platinum used to ‘clean’ harmful exhaust fumes – and are being targeted because of the soaring cost of metal.

Thieves hit the Colin Appleyard car dealership in Otley Road, Shipley, three times in as many weeks, causing an estimated £4,000 worth of damage to cars parked on the garage forecourt.

They have also used what was believed to be a hacksaw to cut the exhausts off two cars parked outside Shipley Library in Wellcroft, a West Yorkshire Police spokesman said.

Mr Appleyard, who owns a string of car and motorbike dealerships in the Aire Valley, Bradford, Huddersfield and Manchester, said: “I have never heard of anybody doing this before but it looks like it is the latest craze.

“It amazes me that these low-lifes catch on to these things that we would have never even thought of.”

He said he was so concerned about the latest crimewave, he had personally written to Shipley’s police chief calling for officers to clamp down on the criminals.

It is understood that some catalytic converters could be exported abroad so that the platinum they contain can then be extracted.

Platinum prices are currently rising - the metal was trading last week at more than £1,000 an ounce. It is thought that the stolen converters can be sold for at least £120 each.

David Hughes, general manager of Colin Appleyard garage in Shipley said that to combat the problem, they had been forced to “beef up” security at the showroom. A security guard has been employed and further measures were being put in place, he said.

Mr Hughes said: “The thieves want the catalytic converters, so they have been coming along in the dead of night and sawing them off – ruining the whole exhaust along the way.

“The most expensive one we have had to replace has cost £1,100 to replace the complete exhaust but in other cases it is costing £200-£300 to replace the exhaust system on a normal car.”

“It would be good if the police, as I am sure they are doing, clamp down on the methods by which these people are operating. But, meanwhile, from a practical point of view, we have got to look after ourselves.”

He warned the thieves: “Stay away from us, because we have made sure that if you do this again, the likelihood is that you will get caught.”

Sergeant Khalid Khan, of Shipley Neighbourhood Policing Team, urged car and scrap dealers to report anyone offering suspicious scrap metal at low prices.

“We have had a number of incidents of this type in Shipley,” he said. “They are going for the platinum inside the catalytic converters, which is an expensive metal.

“There have also been incidents in relation to scrap thefts and we have been working with the Environment Agency on a day of action last week, visiting scrap dealers district-wide, checking their books to see if everything is in order.”

Police are appealing for information about the exhaust thefts in Shipley.

They happened at the Colin Appleyard dealership in Otley Road between Sunday, June 15 and Wednesday, June 18; Wednesday, June 25 and Friday, June 27; and Friday, June 27 and Saturday, June 28.

The cars parked outside Shipley Library were hit between 7.30pm on Sunday, June 15 and 9.30pm the following day.

Anyone with information about the thefts should call West Yorkshire Police on 0845 6060606.