THIEVES who attempted to steal cable from a railway viaduct left thousands of homes in the dark for more than half an hour.

Officers from British Transport Police (BTP) and Northern Powergrid are now appealing for information following the attempted theft at Saltburn viaduct, east Cleveland, which they believe took place at around 11.30pm on Sunday, May 12.

Detective Inspector Stuart Mellish, who heads up BTP’s dedicated cable team, said: "Thieves not only risked their lives by using a wooden stake to attempt to pry 11,000 volt cable off Saltburn viaduct, but they also caused the power to circuit and plunged thousands of houses in the area into darkness.

“The wooden stake used was fried by the electricity from the cable which then short circuited and could have quite easily burnt anyone with a four foot radius. Those responsible for this attempted theft could have been badly injured and are luckily they weren’t killed.

"The theft of cable is not just an attack on the railway – it has a direct impact on the day-to-day lives of thousands of passengers, in this case who had their electricity cut off in the evening.

Anyone with information is urged to call British Transport Police on Freefone 0800 40 50 40, or text 61016, or report crime anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111, quoting incident reference number 288 of 16/05/2013.