Police and Electricity Northwest have issued a joint warning to criminals after a Barrow substation was broken into and copper cabling was stolen.
On Thursday 5th May 2011, the Fairfield Lane substation in Barrow was broken into and £1200 pounds of copper cabling was stolen. An investigation has been launched by Barrow police and officers have joined forces with Electricity North West to highlight the dangers associated with this sort of crime.
Inspector David Bosson from Barrow Police said: “Metal theft is an increasing problem across Cumbria and this latest crime shows the lengths that offenders are going to and the risks they are willing to take.
“Offender(s) ignored safety warnings and on Thursday night, broke into a secure sub station and stole copper cabling from switchgear. This sort of crime can cause real problems for the community with potential for loss of power to homes that can have a significant impact on vulnerable people.
“We have launched an investigation and are appealing for any witnesses who may have seen suspicious activity at the sub station, over the past week to contact us on 0845 33 00 247. If you see anyone interfering with, or what looks like suspicious ongoing activity at a substation, they should call us immediately on 999.”
Jane Fleetwood, Electricity North West’s Area Response Manager, said: “Tampering with substations or any electrical equipment on our network is not only irresponsible, but also extremely dangerous.
“Thieves looking for copper, or other metals, are not only putting their own lives at risk, but they are also potentially risking the lives of others in the community. These acts of vandalism or theft also cause inconvenience to home owners and businesses by interrupting supplies, leave costly repair work on our network and cause unnecessary extra work for our engineers.
“The warning signs at our substations are there for a reason and we would urge anybody who sees people tampering with equipment to report this immediately to police.”
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