Officers said commercial and religious buildings had been frequent targets, but added there had also been thefts of copper cable from electricity lines.

BBC: Police from Forth Valley Division to target metal thieves

But they do have their own style: featureless, virtually deserted buildings, full of marching rows of high-tech servers and routers fed by thick bundles of cable, their cooling fans forming a roaring chorus in the chilly gloom.

ECONOMIST: How the internet works