Police appeal to track down £100,000 Hartlepool sub-station raiders

Cable and electrical equipment were stolen in a raid on the building in Skerne Road on the Oakesway Industrial Estate in West View.

The crime was committed between Thursday, April 11 and Sunday, April 14.

Cleveland Police said: “Police are investigating a burglary which occurred at an electrical substation on Skerne Road in Hartlepool between Thursday April 11th 2019 and Sunday April 14th 2019.

“The building was broken into and approximately £100,000 worth of cable and electrical equipment was taken.”

It is believed the equipment may have been stolen by metal thieves for its scrap value.

The sub-station is understood to be private rather than belonging to Northern Powergrid.

It is on land next to Coveris High Performance Packaging which was formerly Britton Decoflex.

Coveris are described as a leading global packaging company.

The company declined to comment when contacted by the Mail.

However, Northern Powergrid issued a warning about the dangers of tampering with any electrical sub-stations.

A spokesperson said: “We would always say you shouldn’t enter sub-stations and if anyone spots something that looks like it has been tampered with to call 105 to be connected to the local network operator.”

Metal theft costs the UK economy £770 million every year.

The crime was halved in the North East after a British Transport Police initiative.

Anyone with information about the Skerne Road sub-station theft is asked to contact Cleveland Police by calling 101, quoting reference SE19062588.