Cllr John Holdich, who represents the Glinton and Wittering ward on the city council, said that the theft of 22 covers from Glinton, near Peterborough, over the weekend could mean pedestrians and motorists being injured.

He said: "If people trip over them, they could break their ankle or leg.

"Many children walk or ride their bikes to school going past the holes on the road, and it would not take much for someone to fall.

"The council does not keep a lot of spares, so have had to order them in. It is not a quick or cheap process fixing this problem."

Council workers were replacing some of the covers yesterday, but must now wait for more new stock to arrive.

Cllr Holdich said: "The new ones are hinged and much harder to remove from the road.

"They are also not made from heavy metal as the older ones that have been taken, so would not be as attractive to thieves, and must have been in place for nearly a century."

The manhole covers were the latest targets in a spate of metal thefts across the city area, as the price of scrap metal soars due to demand in the far east.

nAnyone with information about the thefts should call Peterborough police on 0845 456 4564.

See special report on the scale of metal theft in the county in tomorrow's ET.