PETER DOWDING is brassed off after scrap metal thieves stole 30 house numbers—including his—from a string of South Fremantle homes.

The former Labor premier woke up to discover his three brass house numbers, worth $120, gone from the front of his Attfield Street property.

After some local sleuthing, he discovered several houses on Jenkin, King William and Attfield Streets and Lefroy Road had also been stripped.

“We contacted the police about the house numbers and they’re looking into it,” he grumbled.

“They must have come with screwdrivers in the middle of the night and got to work.

“Recently, there’s been been quite a few bikes stolen in the area as well.”

Metal theft is a apparently a problem nationwide with brass fetching up to $4 per kilo, and copper around $6, at scrap yards. In April, the The Master Builders Association of WA, following a spate of thefts from construction sites, called on the Barnett government to regulate scrap metal dealers.

The association claimed theft costs the industry $30 million a year, and pushes up costs for homebuyers and developers.

The Chook contacted Fremantle police station, but officers said they were unaware of any rise in metal theft in South Freo.

by STEPHEN POLLOCK