Homes lose power after metal thieves set fire to telegraph pole
A gang of thieves have set fire to a telegraph pole in an attempt to steal copper cable.
The fire caused many local homes and businesses to lose power.
The fire was started in the early hours of Thursday, 29th November near to the Cybi Retail Park in Kingsland Road Holyhead.
Investigating officer PC Joe Hawken from Holyhead Police Station said: “This was a totally mindless and dangerous act as thousands of volts of electricity run through these cables and the consequences of this criminality could have been fatal. We believe the offenders started the fire sometime after midnight and at about 5am that morning the electricity ‘tripped’ knocking off power to a large area of Kingsland and some local businesses. When Scottish Power attended the disruption they discovered the damage and alerted police. I can only assume the fire and subsequent reaction caused such noise that they ran from the scene no doubt contemplating just how close they came to being killed for a relatively small amount of copper.”
PC Hawken later added: “People often think stealing from large corporations is a victimless crime however the consequences are stark and can affect the whole community. Not only have these mindless idiots narrowly escaped death but they also caused a power loss to several households and two local supermarkets causing inconvenience and hardship to hundreds. I would therefore appeal to the community if they saw any suspicious activity in Cybi Retain Park during the early hours of Thursday morning, or knows who is responsible for this act to contact me by phoning 101.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact North Wales Police on 101 or alternatively contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 and quote RC12197057.