Police have issued another warning to residents as yet more valuable stones have been stolen from homes.
Officers say they have received eight reports of thefts over the past six weeks.
The most recent victim was a 90-year-old woman from Adlington, who woke to find her paving stones had been stolen from her back garden over night.
And a three foot piece of stone was also stolen from a wall on Dark Lane, in Henbury.
These come just after thousands of pounds worth of stones were stolen from Bollington Civic Centre.
Stone wall expert Giles Gaddum, 45, from Traditional Countryside Boundaries, said the thefts are ‘despicable’, with a hundred years’ worth of history destroyed by mindless thieves.
He said: “What you tend to find is that over night about two metres of coping will get taken at a time because it weighs around a ton. They will also knock the cement out one night and then come back the next to take the stones.”
Giles, from Bollington, added: “It is really sad when they are removed.
“It is absolutely despicable it really is. You can’t just replace them over night they were hand carved 100 years ago, one by one by one.”
Police say criminals are also targeting secluded, rural areas, with dry walls on farms being ransacked.
Over the past month alone there have been reports of thefts in Bollington, Adlington, Henbury, Pott Shrigley, Poynton and Sutton, among others. Officers say there is no evidence linking them.
A 26-year-old man from Macclesfield was arrested on April 12 as part of the investigation.
He has been released under investigation as enquiries continue.
Sergeant Rob Simpson is urging members of the public to be vigilant.
He said: “Officers are urging residents in the Macclesfield area to remain vigilant following multiple reports involving the theft of dry sandstone walls and York paving slabs. I’d like to remind local residents to remain vigilant and contact the team here at Macclesfield on 101 if they see anyone acting suspiciously near dry stone walls or vans parked nearby, that way we can easily check to see whether or not they should be there.”
Residents with information are urged to call the police on 101 quoting incident number 18100099745.
