Police seize stolen BT cables from a warehouse in Bolton. Officers believe the surge in thefts is being driven by Romanian gangsters

Swoop: Police seize stolen BT cables from a warehouse in Bolton. Officers believe the surge in thefts is being driven by Romanian gangsters

Network Rail claims that 1,602 thefts between April and October alone have led to 1,969 cancelled trains and £8.5million in  lost revenue.

 

 

And police say it is only a matter of time before lives are lost as metal thieves target the infrastructure of the emergency services. 

Abhorrent: Two bronze plaques were stolen from a war memorial in Bleakley, Manchester

Cables have been stolen from the air traffic control system at Stansted Airport, the Airwave radio communications system used by the police has been hit and Solent coastguards lost communications for 36 hours.

The warning comes as a suspected metal thief believed to be of Eastern European origin fights for his life. 

The 21-year-old man suffered 60 per cent burns while allegedly trying to steal metal from an electricity sub-station in Oldbury, West Midlands, early on Saturday.

Six people have been electrocuted trying to steal metal from railways.

Detective Sergeant Chris Hearn, who leads the British Transport Police metal theft unit, Operation Leopard, said: ‘Metal theft is very much a recession crime because it is easy for the thieves to sell to dealers who pay in cash.

‘But for the first time this year we are seeing foreign criminals getting involved in metal thefts.

‘These are Romanian gangs who have been based in the UK for some time.

‘They have been behind the high street begging scams and other criminal enterprises and see this as a new opportunity to make money.

‘Their perception is that there is a lower risk of getting caught and the profits can be very high. We believe they are travelling long distances to ensure the crimes are not traced back to them.’

Police have identified several  hundred suspects belonging to  predominantly Romanian gangs and have passed on their information to the Serious Organised Crime Agency.

Organised crime: A Romanian gypsy child begs from cars on a London street

The price of metal is soaring, with copper doubling to more than £5,000 a ton since 2009, driven by growing demand in the booming economies of China and India.

This means a scrap metal thief can make £100 or more for just a few yards of copper cabling. 

Britain is estimated to have up to 25million tons of copper infrastructure, the majority in the form of wires and cables.

Some gangs are alleged to have stolen British Telecom vans and posed as workers in high visibility vests as they dig up cables.

BT believes about 80 per cent of the attacks on its lines are the work of organised gangs and has set up a taskforce of about 40 security experts, including former policemen and forensic engineers, to combat the thefts