Eleven arrested over lorry thefts

Seven men were arrested during a raid yesterday on a breaker's yard in Deptford, south-east London, where police found vehicles and parts worth about pounds 430,000.

Scotland Yard said that the arrests marked the culmination of a five-month investigation into lorry thefts in London and the Home Counties. On Thursday, four men were held in Nottingham as part of the same operation.

A total of 742 lorries and heavy goods vehicles have been stolen in London and the South-east since the start of the year. Police believe the gang set up a national network for distributing stolen parts.