Two held over cable thefts which delayed 175 trains in Yorkshire yesterday

British Transport Police said 10 trains had to be cancelled and 175 services were delayed for a total of more than 35 hours following the incident in South Kirkby, West Yorkshire, in the early hours of yesterday.

Commuter trains between Leeds and Doncaster and on the East Coast main lines between Leeds and London were disrupted.

Detective Sergeant Granville Sellers said: “This sort of attack causes serious disruption to train services and the travelling public. The act of stealing cable is an extremely dangerous crime which is costly to the rail industry and to the thousands of passengers who rely on the rail network.

“Officers are clamping down on cable thieves and with specialised operations in key hot spots we are arresting more people than ever before. So far we have had over 700 people arrested around the country for cable-related offences and we shall continue to have a high-visibility presence to catch and deter criminals.

“We also conduct regular visits to scrap metal dealers to check any cable which may have been sold by the thieves for profit. What they don’t realise is just how little they make. Is it worth risking your life accessing the rail line for £50 in your pocket?”

Richard Lungmuss, route director for Network Rail, said: “Once again our railway has come under serious attack from thieves, with three separate cable thefts on our route overnight, bringing misery to hundreds of passengers. Our engineers have worked to resume services as quickly as possible and we will be working with British Transport Police to catch those responsible.”

Two men were arrested yesterday by police investigating the theft of railway signal cable.

A 38-year-old man from Newham in east London and a 30-year-old from Middlesbrough were arrested following a search of the Ferry Lane area of north London, in which a police helicopter and a search dog unit were deployed.

The railways have been hit by a spate of cable thefts in recent months which have caused serious delays to services across the country.