A man who was caught red-handed attempting to steal railway cable near a station in Wales has been jailed. Gareth Stephens, 45, of Gelli Road, Ton Pentre, pleaded guilty to attempted theft of railway cable and possession of a bladed article in a public place.
Caught in the act
Merthyr Magistrates' Court heard that a Transport for Wales staff member was on duty at around 7.45pm on Wednesday, June 18 last year, when he received an alert about potential suspicious activity on the line near Abercynon railway station. The staff member began making his way to the scene to investigate, alerting British Transport Police officers in the process.
He found Stephens actively cutting railway cable and challenged him. Stephens suddenly stopped and began running away towards Penrhiwceiber railway station, the next station on the line.
Arrest and sentencing
Trains were stopped on the line for his safety while a search was conducted, while a signalling fault was reported around the same time – a direct result of his actions. Stephens was found a short time later and promptly arrested. On searching the area, officers found a knife discarded in a bush that belonged to Stephens. A grey backpack was also found which contained a pair of cable cutters.
The total cost of the attempted theft and delays caused was around £5,600. Following a British Transport Police investigation, Stephens was sentenced to six months' imprisonment and ordered to pay a £154 fine.
Safety warnings issued
Speaking after the sentencing, chief infrastructure officer at Transport for Wales Dan Tipper said: "The swift and vigilant action of our team member, alongside our close cooperation with the British Transport Police, helped stop this crime and reduce the impact to services and members of the public. Attempting to steal railway cable is incredibly dangerous, reckless, and is disruptive to our network. This sentence sends a clear message that cable theft on our network will not be tolerated."
Tipper added: "Overhead line wires carry 25,000 volts, which is over 100 times the voltage of domestic electricity. They are live at all times. We hope this incident acts as a strong deterrent to anyone considering similar dangerous criminal activity."
British Transport Police detective constable Liam Perry said: "Stealing railway cable is far from a victimless crime. Stephens endangered himself, railway staff, train crews, police officers and members of the public as well. The damage caused to vital signalling infrastructure creates a significant risk to the safe movement of trains and has the potential here to severely disrupt Transport for Wales services. If you have information about individuals responsible for stealing railway cable, report it to us discreetly by texting 61016. We work extensively with Transport for Wales and Network Rail to keep our railways safe, and we'll always work to bring offenders to justice."
Head of route operations at Network Rail Wales and Borders, Craig Fisher, added: "Cable theft is dangerous, disruptive and costly. Tampering with railway equipment can put passengers, railway staff and the offenders themselves at serious risk. In this case, vital signalling equipment was damaged and trains had to be stopped, resulting in thousands of pounds of disruption and repair costs. There is no excuse for targeting critical railway infrastructure in this way. We welcome the custodial sentence and hope it sends a clear message about the seriousness of this type of offending."
