THE Cowdenbeath Community Police Team is asking residents in every local community to be really careful with their various wheelie bins to avoid these being stolen and set on fire.

There has been a spate of incidents in Cowdenbeath and Lochgelly and also in other parts of the Cowden-Gelly area.

Indeed, members of the Cowdenbeath Environment Group have discovered almost 100 bins destroyed this year in the Community Woodland which has also seen a number of trees seriously damaged by the bin blazes.

Also in Station Road, Lochgelly, a bin was emptied and the contents set on fire and there have been other incident sin the town.

The community police team have been working hard at trying to prevent the problem developing and appealed this week to residents to ensure that their blue, brown and black bins are always kept secure.

Said the team on their Twitter site: "We’re asking for our local communities to assist after a recent increase in the number of wheelie bins being stolen and set on fire.

"Please, Don’t leave wheelie bins out overnight; Secure & conceal wheelie bins, if possible; and Chain wheelie bins together, if possible."

The worst place for bin thefts in the locality is Cowdenbeath with many residents in the western end of the town finding all types of bins going missing.

These have in the main ended up at the Community Woodland where they have ended up being destroyed.

The Environment Group estimate that between £4,000 and £5,000 worth of been have been destroyed over the past 12 months, and the result has also seen many trees killed.