Scrapyards across Barnsley were raided by police targeting those suspected of handling stolen metal.

Some 400 police officers were involved in Operation Obtain which saw simultaneous raids carried out on Tuesday morning.

The force descended on five yards in Barnsley, as well as five more across South Yorkshire. Ch Supt Bill Hotchkiss said it was the biggest single strike against suspected metal theft South Yorkshire had ever seen.

He said: "Today's operation is the culmination of months of painstaking investigation work not just by South Yorkshire Police but by everyone involved from our local authorities, other emergency services and service providers.

"The full extent of the amount of material and assets recovered from the sites searched today won't be clear for some time. We have sent a strong message to those suspected of creating a market for stolen metal."

Officers working on Operation Obtain carried out the raids at 9am on Tuesday. The sites targeted included: Aluminium Recycling Ltd, Boulder Bridge Lane, Carlton; Gillott Alloys, Valley Road, Wombwell; J Wallace Metals, Nicholas Lane, Goldthorpe; G Booth and Son, Brierley Road, Shafton and Blackburn and Son, Wharncliffe Business Park, Carlton.

Mr Hotchkiss said metal theft remained a problem, due to the rising cost of raw materials. But he said police operations were disrupting the trade and levels were going down.

"South Yorkshire Police is focussed on disrupting criminal trade and removing the market for stolen metal. Legitimate scrap metal dealers have nothing to fear."

The force was helped with officers from BT, Revenue and Customs, Northern Power Grid, the Environment Agency and Yorkshire Water taking part.

A number of arrests were made. For more detail, see Friday's Chronicle.