Thieves 'risked lives' to steal metal

Detectives investigating the theft from a site in Cottingham, which contains equipment running at 132,000 volts, said the thieves not only put themselves at risk but also left the site insecure for others to walk into.

It is believed a lorry or large van would have been needed to remove the material and it must have taken hours to strip the site of copper and metal.

Det Sgt Becky Handley, of Humberside Police, said: "Anyone going into a substation is risking their lives. There are thousands of volts in there and if someone takes a wrong turn they could be dead. It just isn't worth the risk.

"Thieves are not only exposing themselves to the risk of electrocution, they are also leaving these extremely dangerous sites open for children to wander into, with potentially fatal consequences.

"It poses a serious threat to safety for electricity workers who enter an unsecured station after the thieves have gone."

The substation, which powers 240,000 homes, was broken into between noon and 2.30pm on Monday, May 17.