Power lines targeted in £10,000 metal thefts
Desperate thieves have stripped up to £10,000 of copper cable from overhead power lines near Bridgnorth – disrupting electricity and causing thousands of pounds damage.
The thieves, who are risking death from thousands of volts of electricity in a bid to steal copper to sell for scrap, struck three times in just two days.
Western Power said 600m of cable worth £3,000 was stolen from a power line leading to houses in Brantley Lane, Bobbington, between Thursday and Friday. During the same time, 800m of cable was taken from Woundale, near Claverley.
The following night 120m of cable was cut from a line at Roughton, leaving homes and businesses without power.
Inspector Rob Thomas, from Bridgnorth police, said: "We are getting quite a lot of copper and other sorts of metals stolen at the moment because of the high value of scrap metal.
"Anything not nailed down is being snatched up by thieves. That includes ripping out power lines. The thieves really are taking their lives into their own hands doing this.
"It can often be several days before we hear about it. Often the first we know is when a Western Power engineer has been out to a report of a power failure and found the line is missing."
Anyone with any information about the thefts is asked to contact police on 101 or call Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.
