RESTAURANTS and butchers’ shops are being plundered by thieves trying to cash in on a Christmas black market for festive meats.
Four raids have seen thousands of pounds worth of meat stolen and police said the recession is believed to have sparked the crime spree.
The rising cost of meat has created a black market with individuals and food businesses looking to make savings.
Earlier this year, the problem caused a big rise in the number of deer poaching incidents with venison being sold on the cheap.
Crime gangs were said to be behind that problem, and it is feared organised groups may be responsible for the latest thefts.
Thieves targeted the Aspinall Arms in Mitton taking more than £400 worth of meat including hundreds of chipolata sausages, duck breasts, T-bone steaks and racks of lamb.
Raiders also stole a crate of meat from the Michelin-starred Northcote in Langho.
A third Ribble Valley place, the George Sharp and Son butcher's shop in Mellor Lane, Mellor, was hit when thieves used a claw hammer to smash a window and steal 12 T-bone steaks at the weekend.
And yesterday meat worth £1,000 was stolen from a van outside Riley Brothers butcher's shop in Burnley Road, Loveclough, Rossendale.
In Bolton-by-Bowland, police said they have had reports of three men acting suspiciously near the Bay Gate farm, which keeps turkeys.
Sergeant Conrad Tapp said: "Last year we did not have any thefts like this so it may have something to do with the economic climate and people selling this meat on the black market.
"With the value of the meat being taken and with the festive season fast approaching it would seem that these products will be sold on by the thieves to make a profit.
"There has also been an increase in sheep rustling and poaching across the North West and it seems that it is because prices of meat have shot up.
"We will be increasing vigilance in the areas that have been targeted and a full investigation is currently underway."
Rachel Wilcock, trading standards officer at Lancashire County Council, warned of the dangers of black market meat.
She said: "Our main concern is that we do not know how this meat is being stored once it has been stolen and people could be risking their health if they purchase it.
"We would urge people not to buy this meat if it is being sold out the back of a van or a market because it is not safe.”
Bosses at the Aspinall Arms in Mitton Road had only just purchased the meat in preparation for the seasonal rush of customers before the theft on Sunday.
Simon Forster, who has been manager at the pub and restaurant for more than eight years, said: "We were going to do a new sausage platter for customers to have with their glass of wine or beer and so we had bought hundreds of them.
"We've heard that thefts of meat are becoming more common and that thieves are targeting businesses like ours because the prices of food go up at this time of year and they can shift the meat on the black market to families pretty quickly."
In the incident in Loveclough the driver of the van, owned by James Law pork sellers of Bacup, had left the keys in the ignition, before opportunist thieves stole the vehicle at 12.20pm, police said.
The Ford Transit van was later found dumped in Weir, with meat worth £1,000 missing, police said.
Three men stole the meat from outside a portable building on the Northcote site, in Northcote Road, at around 9.30pm on Friday.
The Mellor butcher's shop was broken into over the weekend.
Samlesbury famer and owner of Huntley's farm shop, Eddie Cowpe, said the price of meat traditionally rose at this time of year, but this year there were other factors pushing the cost higher.
He said: "A lot of Scotland and other areas of England have been out of action for a week or so with the snow, and farmers are struggling to feed their animals and are having to get more feed in for them.
"Also, the price of haylage has gone from £25 a ton to £45 a ton, and diesel has gone from 50p a litre to 70p a litre.
"Unfortunately these increased costs have to be passed on to the customers."
Anyone with information should call Clitheroe police on 01200 443 344 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 01200 443 344 end_of_the_skype_highlighting or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 0800 555 111 end_of_the_skype_highlighting.
John Waters discusses Fruitcake, his long-gestating holiday movie, and describes the as-yet-unmade film as "the story of a little boy and his family of meat thieves"in an interview with the Chicago Tribune.
