POLICE helicopters are to fly along the routes of Metro lines with heat-seeking cameras to catch metal thieves striking in the dead of night.

Officers from the North East Air Support Unit will use infra-red detection equipment in order to spot intruders.

The operation has come after the Metro system was hit by more than 20 incidents of metal theft this year, causing long delays for consumers and racking up bills of £300,000.

Lead from church roofs, war memorials and remembrance plaques, an elderly person’s zimmer frame and even a child’s mobility scooter have also been stolen this year as the North East became the country’s “epicentre” of metal thefts.

Inspector Les Pattison, who leads the Northumbria Police Metro Unit, said “The theft of cables from the Metro system, as well as being expensive to replace, causes great inconvenience to the public when the system has to be suspended for repair.

“We have increased patrols in order to deter criminals from entering the railway lines and the addition of the helicopter will be of great assistance in locating and subsequently catching offenders.

“We are working with our partners to look at the whole issue of cable theft on the Metro system and we will be carrying out more targeted patrols in the future as well as looking at other measures to reduce the number of incidents.”