Leeds: Boy, 16, killed by 275,000 volts at electric substation

A BOY of 16 was killed by a 275,000 volt cable at an electricity substation in Leeds at the weekend.

Officials blamed the incident on an attempt to steal cable.

The victim is thought to have been with three youths at a CE Electric UK sub-station off Skelton Grange Road in the Stourton district.

His body was found by a security guard on Sunday afternoon during a routine patrol introduced after a spate of cable thefts from sub-stations.

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CE Electric said the teenager had apparently been tampering with underground cables at a 275,000 to 132,000 volt “bulk supply point” next to a National Grid facility.

Geoff Earl, the firm’s head of safety, health and environment said: “It is believed that the youth died after attempting to steal copper components from our network. The circumstances of the incident have had devastating consequences for his family who now have to come to terms with this tragedy.

“As a company, on average, we are dealing with four incidents of metal theft on a daily basis. We cannot stress enough how dangerous it is to tamper with electrical equipment on the network.

“Our sites are clearly marked with ‘danger of death’ signs for a very important reason. We are pleading with these thieves to think about the consequences of their actions and how much they are risking for such a small return, especially in the light of this tragedy.”

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CE Electric UK said it has dealt with 690 incidents of cable theft so far this year, of which 279 were in West Yorkshire.

The firm said other recent thefts had left thousands of residents without electricity “and in some cases household appliance damage”.

A spokesman for North West Leeds said: “Three youths were interviewed under caution regarding possible theft matters.”