A scrapyard was today being searched by police as part of an operation targeting metal thefts across the county.

About 20 police officers searched Smith's, in Milton Road, Bloxham, at 11am and uncovered cable thought to be from a railway.

Stop-checks were also carried out on vehicles in Bloxham and Milton. A dozen vans carrying car batteries, air conditioning ducts and some towing scrap cars were also pulled over.

Officers issued fixed penalty notices to drivers without waste disposal licences, but no arrests were made.

The operation was organised in response to more than 1,800 metal thefts across the county in the last year.