Thanks to the vigilance of our engineers, former cable recovery contractor John Barnes was found guilty and sentenced to 18 months in prison for cable theft.
Two ‘off duty’ Infrastructure delivery engineers spotted a gang recovering cable at midnight in the Chelmsley Wood area of Birmingham in July 2014. They thought the set-up and methods the gang used looked suspicious so decided to call the police. Local officers arrived immediately and spoke with the gang who produced ID cards and job packs. Believing them legitimate they were left to continue their work. Needless to say, the gang hot-footed away as soon as the police left,
The Network Resilience Unit surveyed the area and found a staggering 3,000 metres of cable missing which is worth around £29k to our business. The cost to replace the live section totalled over £100k.
The gang leader, a former cable recovery contractor, John Barnes from Liverpool gave the police his real name on that evening so was easily traced. He appeared in Worcester Crown Court, charged with conspiracy to steal. He was found guilty and sentenced to 18 months in prison.
Ben Chadwick from the NRU said “Our engineers are the eyes and ears of the company and had these guys not contacted the police when they did, this gang could have gone on to steal much more of our valuable asset. It’s great to see the criminal justice system working and cable thieves getting a sentence that fits the crime.”
Cable theft is a crime that not only affects our customers but also our ability to build and maintain Britain’s connected future so this is a good result for our business and our customers.
