by KYW's David Madden

Got a place down the shore? You might want to check the pipes outside your house before you turn the water on. Those pipes may be gone -- stolen for scrap -- and it’s an ever increasing problem.

In Ocean City, for example, there’s been 10 cases of pilfered copper piping in the last month.

Police Lieutenant Steven Ang adds, it’s not just copper the thieves are going after:

"We’ve had reports, at construction sites, where aluminum planks have been taken, scaffolding has been taken. We’ve even had some scrap appliances taken removed from properties, along with two boat masts that were taken from the south end of the island within the last month."
 
Prosecutors in Atlantic and Cape May Counties have similar horror stories to tell. The general consensus, the metals are turned into scrap, the money used to buy drugs.

If you find vandalism at your shore home, police want you to call them before you call the contractor.