Cash reward offered after Pontefract power cut was caused by would-be metal thieves

Northern Powergrid has offered a reward of up to £1,000 for information about the crime which leads to an arrest and charge.

The poles were felled in the early hours of Tuesday morning in the South Kirkby area and the culprits left the scene empty handed after discovering that the power lines were not what they were looking for.

Ian Holmes, vulnerable assets manager for Northern Powergrid, said: “The thieves who targeted our network are reckless and showed complete disregard for the danger they put themselves, the public and our engineers in.

“The thieves realised, once the network had been grounded, that the power lines were not copper, and abandoned the scene leaving our power lines on the ground.

“On this occasion our engineers were able to restore power to the majority of our customer very quickly and, by working in partnership with Network Rail, we were able to coordinate the timing of the repairs so it would not disrupt rail services or passengers.

“We’re encouraging anyone who saw any suspicious activity in the South Kirkby area in the early hours of Tuesday night or has any information about the thieves to call 105 the emergency power cut number, the police on 101 or the charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. A reward of up to £1,000 is being offered for information, provided to Crimestoppers, which leads to an arrest and charge.”

The electricity distributor restored power to more than 1,200 premises within 10 minutes by diverting power through alternative routes whilst engineers travelled to the scene.

Power was restored to another 786 properties by 2.40am, with the remaining few customers back on at 9.16am.

The repair work, which required an interruption to a small number of customers’ supplies so engineers could work safely, took place the following night.

The timing of the work was arranged to minimise disruption to affected. customers, Northern Powergrid said.

Roger Critchell, director of operations for Crimestoppers, said: “Incidents such as these are often seen as victimless, but they are not. We’ve seen a community temporarily left without essential power supplies, which can have a significant effect on their home or their business.

“I’d ask anyone who has any information, to please contact our charity. We will never ask any of your personal details. We won’t judge. Just listen to what you know. And pass it on for you. You will remain 100 percent anonymous, always.”