14 October 2008 11:53 Central Networks offers reward to catch Walsall copper thieves

Central Networks, the electricity distribution company for central England, is offering a reward of £1,000 for information leading to the conviction of the vandals who stole metal cable from a Walsall substation this weekend, leaving more than 200 families without electricity.

Engineers spent the weekend inspecting and repairing power circuits in 234 homes affected by the theft at a substation in the Newton Road area.

The theft of copper had a serious knock-on effect to the supply network in the area, damaging circuits in some homes. Among the families affected, three people had electric stairlifts knocked out by the metal theft late on Saturday morning.

"This is about as stupid and thoughtless as it gets," said Phil Wilson, Customer Operations Manager for Central Networks. "Thanks to the actions of these people, hundreds of our customers - some old or vulnerable - were without electricity over the weekend.

"Our guys have worked throughout the weekend to get people's lights back on and to make sure they're safe. I hope our reward, through Crimestoppers, will encourage someone who knows who did this to come forward.

"Vandalising electrical equipment is incredibly dangerous and the next time this happens someone could be killed."

The reckless - and potentially deadly - actions of thieves targeting power lines and electricity substations have already led to two fatalities, a number of serious injuries and more than 50,000 customers temporarily losing their electricity supply throughout the region.

Central Networks, which supplies power to 9.4 million people from the Lincolnshire coast to the Welsh borders, works closely with the charity Crimestoppers, which is offering a £1,000 reward for information leading to the successful prosecution and conviction of those responsible.

Individuals who wish to provide information about who is committing these crimes can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Ends

Notes to editors:

• Central Networks brings power to 4.9 million customers across central England through 133,000km of underground and overhead cables 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.
• Crimestoppers is the only charity dedicated to solving crimes and taking criminals off the streets. Around 17 people are arrested and charged every day as a result of information given to Crimestoppers. One person is charged with murder every five days, as a result of information given to Crimestoppers;
• Since Crimestoppers began in 1988, it has had over 850,000 calls. There have been over 75,000 arrests, over £95m property has been recovered and over £130m worth of drugs has been seized.