The crime-reporting line Crimestoppers and electricity distributor Northern Powergrid are to offer rewards of up to £1000 for information on metal thieves in the Yorkshire, Humberside, Lincolnshire and North East regions.
The two, the charity and utility company, are targeting theft hotspot areas with a digital (facebook and twitter) campaign in an attempt to reduce the number of incidents. The campaign is also to make people aware of the potential for dangers and disruption when people attempt to steal items such as high voltage cables, earthing and other electrical equipment. So far in 2014 there have been 354 incidents of metal theft or vandalism across Northern Powergrid’s electricity power network.
In April thieves put lives in danger after stealing more than 1000 metres of live power cables near Knottingley. Separately, homes around the town were left without power for 12 hours after cables carrying 11,000 volts of electricity were stolen. The thieves left the cables hanging down just above a footpath used by dog walkers near Cridling Stubbs, while live cables were also left hanging just above a road used by lorries in a separate incident near Goole last month.
A more recent incident occurred last week in Leeds, which saw nearly 1300 people in Garforth, Micklefield and Kippax left without power after more than 600m of cables were stolen.
Northern Powergrid and Crimestoppers, who have been working together since 2011, describe metal and cable theft as a serious and dangerous crime. The two are offering rewards of up to £1,000 for information passed to the charity’s 0800 555 111 number that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person or people responsible for this crime.
Gemma Wilson, Regional Manager for Crimestoppers, said: “What people don’t realise is metal and cable theft is incredibly dangerous and is a real threat to life – we don’t want to pick up the paper and hear of somebody dying as a result of a metal theft. The impact these incidents have on a community is huge, and this is why Crimestoppers and Northern Powergrid are determined to eradicate this crime and keep our communities safe, as well as ensure they are receiving the services they should be.
“If you have any information on these incidents please contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or through our Anonymous Online Form – I promise nobody will ever know you contacted us.”
And Nigel Walker, Northern Powergrid’s Vulnerable Assets Manager said: “These thieves are reckless and show complete disregard for people’s lives. Not only do they disrupt people’s electricity supplies by causing significant damage to our power network, they often leave cables carrying thousands of volts hanging dangerously low and within easy reach of innocent passers-by, such as dog walkers or children. We urge anyone who sees any suspicious activity around our network to report it immediately. Your actions could save someone’s life.” Visit https://crimestoppers-uk.org.
