Copper nicked as thieves target London police stations

Drugs, games consoles, cufflinks, welding tools and a "domestic pet" are among the items stolen from London police stations.

According to figures released under the Freedom of Information Act there have been 797 thefts - of items valued at some £226,140 - since 2007.

Police uniforms have been taken 98 times, costing £7,823, and £9,160 of lead and copper has been lost in seven thefts.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said it could be separate pieces of uniform that have been stolen, such as badges or shoes, rather than the whole outfit. We take theft of uniforms seriously.

"We are cracking down on metal theft but if there's an old police building not open to the public, it could be that the metal has been stolen there - it could be scaffolding," he added.

Last year, £32,000 of mobile phones were stolen. Toiletries, stationery, "religious items", disabled parking badges, books, bicycles, laptops and a watch worth £11,000 were also lost.

In total, £31,169 in cash was taken, including eight thefts where more than £1,000 went at a time.

Other stolen items included £4,857 worth of clothing and sportswear and £910 of footwear. A £5,000 bangle and a £3,000 necklace were lost in 2008.

There were 168 thefts from police stations in 2007, 192 in 2008 and 171 in both 2009 and last year.

Until August this year there have been 95 burglaries, robberies and thefts at police stations.

The Met would not disclose which police stations the crimes took place at, fearing that they would be targeted by criminals.