20 April 2006 00:00 Young vandals risk own lives and cause significant disruption to power supply over Easter weekend

Central Networks, the electricity distribution company for central England, has again warned children to stay out of its substations and away from its equipment after youngsters broke into and vandalised one of its Lincolnshire substations.

More than 2,500 customers lost power for nearly an hour just before 8pm on Saturday after the vandals struck, with the main areas affected being Skellingthorpe and North Hykeham.

Stephen Hennell, Network and Public Safety Manager with Central Networks, said: “These children were foolhardy to force their way into a secure substation and tamper with high voltage switchgear – the equipment has the potential to cause serious injuries, possibly fatal.

“We put Danger of Death signs around our substations and on our equipment for a good reason.

“Their actions caused significant inconvenience for our customers, with our engineers working hard to restore supplies within an hour.”

“We treat events like this very seriously, and the Police have been informed about the break in and vandalism at this site.”

Central Networks is reminding children and their parents that they should not enter substations or tamper with electrical equipment under any circumstances.

Anyone who sees any suspicious behaviour around electricity substations, pylons or overhead lines is asked to call Central Networks immediately, on 0800 096 3080, or to contact the Police.

Ends

Notes to editors:
• Central Networks is the new name for Midlands Electricity and East Midlands Electricity. The company brings power to 4.9 million customers across the East and West Midlands through 133,000km of underground and overhead cables – enough to go round the Earth almost four times – and via almost 97,000 substations;
• Central Networks covers an area from the Peak District in the north to parts of Bristol in the south, and from the Welsh Borders to the Lincolnshire Coast.
• The Power Discovery Zone website (www.powerdiscoveryzone.com) is designed to support the Central Networks Power Discovery Truck which is a free resource that visits local schools to teach pupils about electricity and electrical safety.
• Anyone who would like the bus to visit a school, safety event or show should visit www.powerdiscoveryzone.com and follow the directions in the Teacher’s Zone.

For further information contact:
Jane Branscombe on 024 7642 5528
A selection of Central Networks pictures is available free of charge to the media by registering at www.newscast.co.uk and looking under Distribution