'Cable theft worth limb loss risk’ says London thief

[John Ashworth]

'Cable theft worth limb loss risk’ - London thief says illegal trade booming

Wednesday, December 14, 2011
London 24 4:08 PM

Stealing cables from the railway is an “easy win”, with no shortage of scrap dealers willing to buy it, a former thief has revealed.

The man, known as Jim said it was worth the risk, even though he knew of one thief who ended up losing three of his limbs.

The man said prices for scrap metal had “gone through the roof”, adding there was plenty lying around, with dealers knowing it was stolen but never asking questions.

Jim, who has been arrested for stealing metal, claimed he was given clothing by a railway employee, adding: “Normally you do it as early as possible, when the trains aren’t running.

“It’s safer to do it in daylight than dark. It’s more conspicuous when dark, so you take your chances when it’s daylight. You get caught once for every five, six, seven you do. It’s more than enough reward for it.

“The cables, there’s a lot of money in it, the prices have soared. It’s an easy win for people, just go, cut it up and run. There’s no shortage of scrap dealers prepared to take it,” Jim told BBC London.

“There’s a lot of money involved. Scrap metal has come up to that kind of level and people take risks for it.

“I know of somebody who was out doing it (stealing cable) and was told to take this part, grabbed it and ended up losing three of his limbs. There’s a lot of people willing to take the risk and the consequences.

“You look at it, you’re worrying about what’s going on around you, you suit up, use high-vis boots and vest, you’re not working when trains are going past. You do it as safely as possible.”

A spokesman for the Association of Train Operating Companies said: “Cable thieves’ thoughtless actions are regularly bringing disruption to hundreds of thousands of passengers up and down the country.

“The rail industry is working hard with the police to tackle the organised gangs and opportunist thieves who are causing the problems. To deal with the problem more effectively, we need new laws to close down the trade in stolen metal.”