Two men from Salford have been jailed for a total of 17 months after stealing railway cable worth £1,715, as part of a British Transport Police (BTP) investigation.
Darren Jervis, 32, of Salford and Nigel Chapman, 31, of Little Hulton, were sentenced at Manchester Crown Court on Monday 14 December after both pleading guilty to one charge of theft and one of attempted theft.
The pair stole a total of 500 metres of redundant railway cabling over three separate occasions in October last year from lines between Swinton and Moorside stations.
On one of the occasions the pair accidentally cut through a live cable, causing delays to the network and repairs costing £5,068.
The two were arrested when BTP officers patrolling the area caught them in the act of sawing through cabling near to the end of the platform at Moorside station shortly after midnight on 24 October 2014.
A search of Jervis’ home address revealed some of the stolen cabling and analysis of clothing belonging to the pair also tied them to the thefts.
Further enquiries led police to a Salford scrapyard where they found receipts made out to Jervis for cabling handed in over dates corresponding with the thefts.
Jervis was sentenced to nine months in prison and Chapman was ordered to serve eight months in prison.
Detective Inspector Tony Fitzpatrick of British Transport Police said: “We take this kind of crime very seriously and will continue to do all we can to bring those responsible before the courts. Although it may seem like a victimless crime, cable theft in fact costs the railway millions in delays and has a knock on effect on the thousands of passengers who use the rail network every day.
“The total cost of Jervis and Chapman’s criminal activities was in excess of £7,000, costs which are ultimately passed onto the fare paying public.
“The custodial sentences handed down reflect the severity of the crime in the eyes of the law and should act as a deterrent to anyone tempted to commit similar crimes.”
Terry Strickland, area director for Network Rail, said: “These sentences send a strong message to anyone considering stealing cable from the railway. Cable thieves deny passengers the service they expect and force us to spend money on repairs which would be better spent on making improvements. We continue to do all we can to protect the railway and work closely with the British Transport Police and other organisations to deter thieves and bring those who attack our network to justice.”
