POLICE can't get no satisfaction trying to solve the great rolling stones mystery!

Crooks are stealing the decorative stone balls and selling them for up to £100 a time -- and officers fear the practice could spread across East Lancashire.

The thieves have rolled 26 of the balls off gate posts in the last few months, with the latest theft between Friday night and Saturday morning.

Two football-size stone balls were stolen from a property in Pendleton, in the Ribble Valley.

Police believe the offences are being committed by thieves from out of the area.

A spokesman said: "We believe that there is a real market for this type of stone and someone out there is making a lot of money.

"So far, 26 have been stolen this year, 61 since 1999, particularly in the Simonstone and Pendleton areas.

"In the latest incident, the stone balls were on top of such high gate posts that the thieves had to use a ladder.

"We are urging anyone who spots anyone suspicious or an unknown vehicle, perhaps with a trailer, in their area to contact us."

One local stone mason, who did not wish to be named, said the stone balls would probably fetch up to £60 second hand and could cost anything over £100 brand new.

He added: "I have heard of a number of thefts, not just decorative stone balls but of top stones as well. I think that they are being stolen to order.

"Such a lot seem to have been taken in the last few weeks. The stones are so heavy that they aren't something you would steal randomly.

"I was recently approached by United Utilities to replace 130 metres of top stones that had been stolen from Gisburn Forest. How they got away with that I don't know."

A spokesperson for United Utilities' Bowland estate office confirmed that a large amount of top stone had been stolen from the Gisburn Forest area in the last three weeks.

Anyone with information can contact Clitheroe police on 01200 443344.