ST. JOHN • St. John officials plan to warn homeowners who are trying to rent or sell their property that placing "for sale" or "for rent" signs in front of the houses could lure vandals and thieves.

The City Council on Monday decided to send letters to property owners encouraging them to refrain from placing signs in their yards because the vandals break into unoccupied houses to steal the copper water pipes.

"I understand why they need to put signs up but, I tell you what, it's like an open invitation," Mayor Lee Taylor said. "It's bad enough they take the plumbing but they don't turn the water off."

In some cases homeowners have found three feet of water in their homes after vandals cut the pipes without turning off the water valves.

Police Capt. J. R. "Rusty" Morris said in an interview that thieves have broken into about a half dozen empty houses since the beginning of the year stripping the copper pipes from them.