A LEEK harvesting firm says it has been forced to axe 40 jobs after it was targeted by metal thieves.
Nightlayer Leek Company, based in Dean Grove, Chatteris, is facing a repair bill of up to �30,000 after vandals struck last week.
The damage was done to one of the company’s three leek harvesting rigs.
Forty staff work on each rig, where leeks are graded, washed and packed after being hand-picked in the fields.
As well as the job losses, Nightlayer is currently buying leeks from abroad to fulfil its orders.
Cambridgeshire police are working to crack down on metal thefts, which has become a huge problem across the country.
Thefts in the county have included stealing copper cabling and lead from church roofs. Thieves will often make hundreds of pounds in scrap value for causing thousands of pounds of damage.
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