Attempted metal theft results in serious accident
One of the reasons metal theft so annoys me is that it can endanger the lives of innocent people. I make no apology for returning to this subject and pointing out - because the knowledge might make potential thieves realise that they would be better off adopting an honest profession - that metal theft gangs often also endanger their own.
This is what appears to have happened recently in Yorkshire when what seems to have been an attempted cable theft ended with a suspected intruder falling from a roof and breaking both legs.
The incident happened during a break-in at BT’s Sheffield Computer Centre in Tinsley Park, Sheffield, South Yorkshire. A vigilant site security guard was monitoring CCTV screens when he spotted movement in the yard and then saw two people climbing the perimeter wall. He immediately called Yorkshire police, who responded promptly, with officers, including a dog handler, arriving within ten minutes to carry out a search of the site.
At this point the individuals who were on the premises without permission attempted to leave, and one man was seriously injured when he fell 16ft from a roof. An ambulance was called and paramedics treated the man at the scene before he was taken to hospital. Police arrested four people.
As I do not wish to prejudice the trial of the individuals who were arrested or anyone else who may have been associated with what appears to have been an attempted theft involving actual damage to BT's systems I will not say too much more about this incident, other than to say that it appears to merit a severe punishment, though I would prefer that it were imposed by the courts rather than through injury.
I hope the gentleman who fell from the roof will have plenty of time to reflect on the fact that if the BT wires which were cut that evening had included the telecommunications system which was subsequently used to summon the ambulance and medics who treated him, his suffering might have been a great deal worse.
Metal theft isn't just a menace to society - it is an even bigger menace to the people involved in it, and the risks to life and limb far outweigh the returns. Anyone who is competent and careful enough to bring off a series of successful metal thefts could earn far more money for less effort though any of a range of honest jobs.
This is what appears to have happened recently in Yorkshire when what seems to have been an attempted cable theft ended with a suspected intruder falling from a roof and breaking both legs.
The incident happened during a break-in at BT’s Sheffield Computer Centre in Tinsley Park, Sheffield, South Yorkshire. A vigilant site security guard was monitoring CCTV screens when he spotted movement in the yard and then saw two people climbing the perimeter wall. He immediately called Yorkshire police, who responded promptly, with officers, including a dog handler, arriving within ten minutes to carry out a search of the site.
At this point the individuals who were on the premises without permission attempted to leave, and one man was seriously injured when he fell 16ft from a roof. An ambulance was called and paramedics treated the man at the scene before he was taken to hospital. Police arrested four people.
As I do not wish to prejudice the trial of the individuals who were arrested or anyone else who may have been associated with what appears to have been an attempted theft involving actual damage to BT's systems I will not say too much more about this incident, other than to say that it appears to merit a severe punishment, though I would prefer that it were imposed by the courts rather than through injury.
I hope the gentleman who fell from the roof will have plenty of time to reflect on the fact that if the BT wires which were cut that evening had included the telecommunications system which was subsequently used to summon the ambulance and medics who treated him, his suffering might have been a great deal worse.
Metal theft isn't just a menace to society - it is an even bigger menace to the people involved in it, and the risks to life and limb far outweigh the returns. Anyone who is competent and careful enough to bring off a series of successful metal thefts could earn far more money for less effort though any of a range of honest jobs.
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