The National Plant and Equipment Register (TER) has accused insurers, owners and users of construction equipment of being "institutionally indifferent to plant theft".
South and south-east England accounted for almost 20% of stolen items, with Thames Valley alone recording 170 thefts.TER's manager Tim Purbrick identified a "vicious circle", with poor machine protection and low site security allowing plant to be taken.
He said second-hand buyers are only interested in the machine's condition, while insurers have few if any records of the items they cover."With plant hire companies placing multi-machine orders, the insurance often pays out more for a stolen item than the original purchase price," said Purbrick."The police are trying hard, but their priorities are set by the Home Office and that doesn't include plant theft," he added.Purbrick expects the UK's economic downturn will result in more fraudulent claims, with dishonest owners selling machines abroad before reporting them as stolen.
He also expects more stolen machines to end up in the Middle East and Eastern Europe.
