In Beijing, China's capital city, they are testing a new kind of manhole cover to try and stop prolific theft of manhole covers on pavements and roads around city. Inventors in Beijing are currently trying to make manhole covers of non-metal materials so that they are no longer a temptation for theives. This is a huge problem in China where covers are sold as scrap for a few dollars but replacements cost over a hundred dollars each. Incredibly Beijing has more than 600,000 manhole covers and during 2004 city lost around 240,000 manhole and drain covers to thieves.

On a smaller scale but equally lucrative are British Road Signs. Go to Ebay and type in 'road sign' in search facility. Hundreds of road signs are on offer, many of them are copies but look closely and you could pick up a genuine and original bargain such as Trafford Road sign with current bidding at £30 and reserve not yet met. A closer look reveals traffic cones, village signs and other icons of Britain that can be found up and down country and which are often ignored by all but dedicated ebay entrepreneur who wanders around at night with his screwdriver and crowbar finding items of worth to advertise on ebay.