A LANDOWNERS’ group has welcomed an indication from Government that it plans to ban cash payments by scrap metal dealers.

The Country Land and Business Association (CLA), which has campaigned for a ban, said it would “go a long way” to reducing metal theft. CLA President Harry Cotterell was told at a recent meeting with Home Office Minister Lord Henley that cash payments by scrap metal dealers will be prohibited.

Mr Cotterell, who is in Suffolk this week to talk to CLA members, said: “I am delighted Lord Henley said that new clauses will be laid before Parliament, within the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders (LAPSO) Bill, to ban scrap metal dealers from paying in cash.

“Scrap metal theft has increased dramatically over the past few years and is having a significant impact on rural businesses and communities in East Anglia. Cash payments were making it impossible to trace thieves. We believe that taking the hard cash out of system will go a long way to reducing metal theft.”