New Milton men arrested over iron and steel theft at Efford waste recycling centre on Milford Road in Pennington

Two men have been arrested after metal waste was stolen from a Pennington recycling centre last night (Sunday).

Police responded to a call-out by a CCTV operator who had been alerted to two people wandering the Efford Household Waste Recycling Centre on Milford Road around 10.25pm.

Having gained access to the Hampshire County Council facility via a fence at the rear, one of the men allegedly climbed into an open-top container containing iron and steel.

He was said to have been seen passing items from the container to the other man, who stuffed them into several duffel bags.

They then fled on foot towards Milford Road.

A Hampshire police spokesperson said: “Officers were deployed to the scene and carried out a number of extensive area searches, locating two men matching the descriptions provided by the CCTV operator at the junction of Milford Road and the entrance to the waste site.

“They were both detained for the purposes of a search and were subsequently arrested.”

A 34-year-old man and a 36-year-old man, both from New Milton, were arrested on suspicion of burglary other than dwelling with intent to steal. They currently remain in custody.