THOUSANDS of pounds worth of damage to mechanical equipment at quarries around Cambridgeshire has forced an aggregate company to put permanent security personal on site.

Mick George said that, in the last three months alone, more than £120,000 worth of damage had been caused by vandals at its quarries across the county.

As a result, the company immediately started putting static caravans at its sites, including the Witcham Meadlands Quarry, near Mepal, where thousands of tonnes of sand and gravel for the construction industry is being excavated.

In its planning application to Cambridgeshire County Council, the company said: “It is proposed to establish a security caravan at the Witcham Meadlands site to deter

damage or theft of mobile plant and/or equipment at the quarry.

“In the past three months alone thefts and wilful damage of equipment has occurred at

Mick George sites in Cambridgeshire. In total this relates to over £125,000.

“The location of this caravan is such that it is not obtrusive whatsoever although it will play a potentially important role in deterring the theft or damage to valuable

items of plant and equipment on the operational quarry complex.”

Though the application was retrospective, the county council decided to grant permission for the caravan, though the permission will only be in place until 2018.