Metal thieves who left more than 1,300 homes in Stockton without power last night dumped their haul of electrical cabling when they realised it wasn’t worth much.
Energy distributor, Northern Powergrid, said it has been using less valuable materials in an attempt to clamp down on the problem.
Last night’s incident happened in Hartburn, near Stockton, causing power cuts to postcodes TS19, TS18 and TS21 areas for nearly two hours.
Police attended and discovered cabling had been removed and left behind.
A spokeswoman for Northern Powergrid said: “It was a span of our overhead network that was stolen, that is a conductor, the cables that link each pole together.
“We will now liaise with the police to try and nullify the problems in the future.”
As well as the danger of electrocution faced by those who attack power lines, thefts can pose a safety risk to householders whose power supplies fluctuate.
The company said this particular network area has been restrung with aluminium cables in a bid to deter thieves.
The spokeswoman added: “This is extremely dangerous. People are willing to risk their lives for it. It would seem that the cables have been left once they have realised it wasn’t copper.
“They haven’t actually stolen as much as they usually would because it’s not as valuable to them.”
All supplies were back on by 10pm.
Anyone with information or who saw any suspicious activity should call Northern Powergrid 0800 668877, or police on 101.
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