What do you do with a stolen bridge?

My eyes nearly popped out of my head when I saw this article in the newspapers. A gang of thieves in the Czech Republic stole the strangest thing: a bridge. Not just any old bridge, but a bridge with railway tracks on it.  The thieves turned up to their job, complete with a crane. They also had false papers supposedly from the local council authorizing the demolition, just in case the police showed up and asked them what they were doing. The fake permit said they were building a bicycle path.

.In fact, the police did show up, the thieves showed the false papers, and the police went on their way, satisfied. The bridge, which was about 200 metres (670 feet) long, ran between the villages of  Loket and Horni Slavkov, weighed about ten tonnes. Now, I’m guessing they didn’t steal the whole 670-foot bridge in one night. I’m guessing they stole the pedestrian part of the bridge and the railway tracks. Why steal a bridge? For the value of the scrap metal. Stealing things like bridges has apparently become common in the Czech Republic, as scrap metal prices have risen in the last couple of years.

I’d heard of thieves stealing copper from church roofs in England. And I’ve heard of metal being stolen from building sites in Australia. But a bridge?

This leads me to ask, what is the strangest thing you’ve ever heard of being stolen? Please leave a comment and tell me.