Street name signs have been disappearing in the Randfontein area‚ in a sign that steel thieves have added a new item to their list.

The town has seen a string of signs disappear as thieves target steel that can be removed to sell to scrap merchants. Reports in The Times indicate that thieves have been targeting manhole covers‚ guard rails‚ street name poles and other items to sell as scrap.

Democratic Alliance councilor Ellik De Lange issued a statement on Tuesday drawing attention to the missing street signs‚ and called on the Randfontein municipality to conduct an urgent investigation into the disappearance of the signs.

The DA in its statement emphasised the necessity of street signs‚ and the risks motorists faced if these signs were not visible. It called on the municipality to replace the signs and on the public to come forward with any information about the thefts.