£20,000, eight police, one helicopter, two dog units and three patrol cars to trap recyclers who took 47p of scrap

Two keen recyclers claim police blew £20,000 on a huge operation to arrest them – for taking 47p worth of scrap from a rubbish tip. Salvage experts Owen Gray, 50, and Angela Cubitt, 34, helped themselves to an old PlayStation 3 and a Black and Decker drill which had been dumped at their local recycling centre.

But they were stunned when a police helicopter, two vans, two dog units and three patrol cars swooped to arrest them as they walked home. They claim officers told them the cost of the arrest operation was £20,000 and that the scrap value of the old electrical goods was just 47p. Owen and his friend Angela, an out-of-work chef, were arrested after visiting the unmanned Hempsted Household Recycling Centre in Gloucester on the evening of March 27.



They were walking away from the dump when they heard the buzzing of the force helicopter above – before they were stopped and arrested by an officer with police dogs at around 10pm. The pair were taken to a local police station and held in a cell overnight before being questioned the next day.

Owen was eventually ordered to pay £20 to a charity through the Community Oriented Policing (COPs) scheme, which allows police to deal with small crimes directly. The charges against Angela were later dropped and the pair were released at 3pm the next day. Gloucestershire Police defended its response and confirmed eight officers attended.