10 August 2009 16:39 Putting lives on the line: Northampton cable vandals lucky to escape unhurt, warns Central Networks
Vandals have damaged three electricity substations in Northampton in the past week, cutting power to hundreds of local homes and leaving themselves at risk of serious injury or death, according to Central Networks.
Engineers called to a substation in Broad Street, Northampton, on Friday (6th AUG) found intruders had broken into the substation and damaged high voltage electrical equipment inside. Abandoned tools were also found at the scene.
A total of 861 customers were affected, 325 of whom were without power for around two hours before engineers were able to repair the equipment and reconnect them.
Two other substations in the nearby area were also found to have been vandalised.
Phil Wilson, Customer Operations Manager with Central Networks, said: "The sheer stupidity of vandalising or interfering with thousands of volts of electricity should be glaringly obvious to everyone.
"We work very hard to keep people's lights on and incidents like this not only make that job harder but also more dangerous. Vandalising substations is dangerous for those people stupid enough to do it but is also a hazard for our engineers and for passing members of the public unaware that anything has gone on."
In recent years, 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 five million customers from Lincolnshire 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 five million customers across central England through 133,000km of underground and overhead cables and via almost 94,000 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.
For further information contact:
Andrew Barrow on 02476 183 677