Dr Andrew Wheatley, the chairman of the St Catherine Parish Council in Jamaica, has called for the government to put an end to the scrap-metal industry in an attempt to dissuade scrap metal thieves who have been wreaking havoc on parish buildings in the country.

He said “When Tropical Storm Tomas was coming, we took down the parish council’s billboard, and when we went to put up back the billboard they took down one of the those big 20×32-foot metal frame at Old Harbour roundabout. It disappeared, completely disappeared.”

He continued, “We are also suffering as it relates to the manhole covers, and I’ve seen where the signposts that we have erected throughout the townships of Spanish Town, Old Harbour and Linstead have been removed as soon as we put them up. Stop signs, as a matter of fact, even our bridges, the metal that hold up our bridges are being removed.”