A FAMILY has hit out after thieves stole 60 metres of live power cable, leaving a severely disabled woman without the use of vital equipment.

Nicola Bell lost the use of her stairlift when vandals struck in the early hours of yesterday, leaving Collingwood Street and Cleveland View, in Coundon, Bishop Auckland, without electricity.

The 30-year-old needs round-the-clock care and her family said she has a special routine to her life that was badly disrupted due to the power cut.

Neighbours rallied round to provide flasks of hot water and another resident provided a generator to enable them to have a small amount of power, but when the cable was cut the stairlift was badly damaged by a power surge.

Nicola’s mother Margaret, 76, said: “These thieves just don’t care about what they have done. It has caused us a lot of disruption because Nicola needs the stairlift to get up and down the stairs.

“We have to do everything for her and she knows when something isn’t right and gets upset. She has a special diet and we haven’t been able to keep to that. It won’t cause an insurmountable problem for one day, but that is not the point.

“I can’t believe they have done this. I mean, how much would they have got for that amount of cable?

“It is a wonder they haven’t electrocuted themselves.”

The remainder of the overhead cable was left hanging from telegraph poles and police officers even found step ladders left by the thieves.

Bishop Auckland’s neighbourhood inspector Martin Peace said: “It is a big problem nationally and it is very dangerous, not just for those stealing the cable, but the people who are affected. It is not a new crime, but it is driven by the world economy.

“They are putting lives at risk, not only their own, but the lives of the residents.

“They are nasty characters who just don’t give a damn.”

The electricity supply was expected to be reconnected to the affected homes last night.