Cable thieves risking electrocution

The soaring price of copper has led to one of the region's electricity companies witnessing a staggering 25-fold increase in the number of trespassing offences in the past five years.

Police and electricity officials issued a stark warning yesterday that they fear it is only a matter of time before they have to deal with a fatality when a copper theft goes wrong.

Two thieves have already been hospitalised in the region after receiving massive electric shocks inside electricity sub-stations. Other offenders are thought to have been injured but not sought medical treatment.

Copper thefts in the North have cost CE Electric UK 629,000 in the first eight months of this year, with the Yorkshire region accounting for nearly half of the figure.

The electricity company dealt with about 10 cases of trespass in the first three months of 2005; this figure had soared to 250 offences between April and June this year.

Other companies including Yorkshire Water, BT and the National Grid have all reported significant increases in copper cable thefts.

British Transport Police says cable thefts from Yorkshire's railway has become its biggest challenge after terrorism with offenders risking their lives by stealing the metal. It also causes massive delays for passengers and leaves Network Rail with an annual bill of around 15m bill to replace stolen cable.

CE Electric UK's head of safety, Paul Norton, said: "Thieves are lucky to get away, seemingly without injury, and we are working with the police to help them with their investigations and to bring the perpetrators to justice.

"In the past three years, we have seen people lose their lives and many more receive horrific electrical burn injuries after trying to steal cables, power lines and other components from our network."

The price of copper has increased dramatically as global demand, especially from China, has soared. The metal is now 4,854 a tonne, compared with 2,916 a tonne in 2005.

A lucrative black market has emerged with thieves usually arriving at night in white Transit-type vans similar to those used by electricity companies, leading people to believe that legitimate work is being carried out.

CE Electric UK confirmed it spends about 1m to replace the stolen metal and up to 2m repairing the damage caused by thieves and vandals every year. The company is investing 10m on security improvements such as intruder alarms, electric fences and hiring security companies to patrol premises.

Inspector Chris Witty, from North Yorkshire Police, has investigated a spate of copper cable thefts in the Selby district - including two offences in the Monk Fryston area which happened during the same week.

Householders were left without power for several hours after thieves stole more than 800ft of cable on Tuesday, August 24, before another 820ft was taken only six days later. Nearly 10,000ft of cable was stolen in the Selby area in recent months. Insp Witty said: "Although the financial aspect is a problem, the risk to members of the public is of great concern to us. It is only a matter of time before someone is seriously hurt or worse."

West Yorkshire Police said last month that a suspected thief was "very lucky to be alive" after a saw was used to cut through a live wire carrying 11,000 volts.

The 25-year-old man went to Leeds General Infirmary with serious burns after an attempted theft in the city.

Other locations targeted in the past month include Snaith and Burton Salmon in North Yorkshire as well as Featherstone and Wakefield in West Yorkshire.