Thieves scale pylons and steal copper cabling

Police have issued a warning after thieves scaled pylons and cut down thousands of pounds worth of copper wire.

At about 7.15am on Saturday 6 August 2011, police were called to business premises on Moston Road, Chadderton, after the owner noticed a power line had collapsed onto his roof when he arrived for work.

Inquiries by police established that at about 1.30am that morning, thieves had climbed up an electricity pylon at the junction of Grimshaw Lane and Kirkway in Middleton and had cut the wire.

The thieves did this at two further pylons, stealing two lots of 400m copper cable which could be worth thousands of pounds.

The wire is believed to have been dragged through the Greengate Industrial Estate by the culprits.

And at about 1.00pm on today (Monday 8 August 2011), police were called to Baguley Crescent in Middleton after the National Grid discovered another piece of copper cabling running between two pylons had been cut down.

As a result, a block of flats had to be evacuated while the National Grid made the area safe.

The cut piece of cable fell into a field but could have fallen onto a housing estate, which could have put people's lives at risk.

Police are now appealing to anyone who has information to come forward and also warning people about the dangers they face when committing this type of crime.

Chief Inspector Mark Bell said: "These thieves are risking not just their own lives but the lives of others just to get their hands on their copper cabling.

"We have already seen in Greater Manchester an incident where someone suffered serious electric shocks after trying to steal electrical wire, and we did find scorch marks at one of these pylons so it is possible these thieves also injured themselves.

"These people are scaling very tall pylons and cutting the earth wire. However, if that cable touches one of the live power wires when it falls that cable will also become charged so if it hits someone we could be dealing with a very serious incident, not to mention the risk these thieves are running of injuring themselves.

"In warning people of the dangers they face, I also want to stress how massively disruptive this sort of crime can be. When people steal cabling, particularly rail, power and communications, it can deprive thousands of people of transport links and vital utilities.

"It might be a lucrative crime but the penalties, both to your health and if you are caught, are severe.

"I would appeal to anyone who has information about this theft or who thinks they may know who is involved to call us immediately."

Anyone with information should call Greater Manchester Police on 0161 872 5050 or the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.