METAL theft has been the scourge of Oxfordshire over the past few years.

It has been a difficult problem to tackle, with thefts taking place often in isolated and remote areas.

But it seems we are now starting to win the battle. And it is not just law enforcement which has helped.

A raft of measures including a new law banning cash payments for scrap metal, spearheaded by Banbury MP Sir Tony Baldry, have fed into this success.

Of course, the high profile nature of this new type of crime has also helped. Communities have taken it into their own hands to introduce ways of stopping these thefts too.

Measures including Smartwater, laser security systems and even vicars standing guard through the night have helped.

But now the court system needs to get up to speed. All too often we have seen metal thieves given what appear to be very lenient sentences. The crimes may be technically thefts, but they have a much wider impact on the community. They affect train travellers, schools, church congregations, motorists, homes and businesses.

The work done so far is testament to a lot of hard work. But that must continue and we should not be complacent.