Metal thefts cause chaos on railway lines

4:30pm Tuesday 29th January 2008

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TRAINS are being delayed by 90 minutes every day thanks to thieves stealing parts of railway lines for scrap metal.

And the shocking figures also showed that the crime was causing the cancellation of five trains across the North West in an average week.

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British Transport Police (BTP) have launched a crackdown and kicked it off by visiting scrap dealers in Lancashire and across the North West.

Officers checked the books and warned of the serious consequences of handling stolen goods.

Police said the crime was spiralling as the cost of scrap metal was at an all-time high.

Copper is now worth £4,000 a ton, twice as much as two years ago.

Transport police described the theft of metal for scrap as its officers' biggest problem after terrorism.

BTP figures show that:

• Metal thefts on the railways increased from 136 incidents in 2006 to 224 last year.

• 197 trains had to be cancelled due to the thefts between April and December last year.

• A total of 21,068 minutes were lost over the same nine month period - an average of almost an hour and a half every day in the North West.

• In the region, a total of 42 people were arrested for cable related incidents in 2007, more than twice the figure in 2006 which stood at 18 arrests.

Chief Inspector for Operations Eddie Wylie said: "Metal theft is a major crime that has potentially serious economic consequences for the country and negatively impacts on communities in many ways.

"It is certainly not a victimless crime."

Chief Insp Wylie said anyone trying to remove tracks beside 'live' passenger lines was risking serious injury.

"We are encouraging scrap metal dealers to be particularly vigilant and if they suspect metals to have been stolen, to report it to police.

"On the rail system, theft of cable is a particular problem and is extremely dangerous to those involved.

"It can also cause hours of delay to the thousands of passengers who rely on the rail network.

"Those who steal cable are not just risking a prison sentence, they are risking their lives."