Odd Theft Leaves Village in the Dark

A rash of power line thefts is dogging Britain. An entire English village lost electricity for several hours on Friday after thieves stole some 3,000 feet of cable—and it’s the second such theft in that county alone since August, This Is Lincolnshire reports. It’s a running problem on train lines, too, notes the Telegraph. Cable robbers have been cutting lines and leaving the sparking ends hanging; today, firefighters had to be called out to address the problem.

Rail officials found that more than 650 feet of power line had been cut, causing a fire and shutting down train travel into one of London’s major stations. “Yet again, commuters in the capital have had their journeys disrupted by criminals,” said a railway spokesman. “We need to see tougher sentences in the courts for anyone caught stealing cable and new legislation to help crack down on the minority of scrap metal dealers who knowingly profit from rail users' misery." (More electricity stories.)