Explosion caused by copper cable thieves

An explosion in a Castleford street that damaged 6 homes may have been caused when thieves attempted to steal copper cable from overhead power lines.

Firefighters were called at around 1.30am on Friday to several small fires in homes on Rhodes Street. On discovering the probable cause of the fire, around 30 people were evacuated only a few minutes before a gas explosion demolished walls and roofs of surrounding homes.

Two firefighters were injured in the explosion.

A spokesman for CE Electric and Northern Gas Networks said: “We can confirm that there was an incident of metal theft from CE Electric UK’s overhead line network in the early hours of yesterday morning. Electricity supplies to 63 properties and gas supplies to 55 properties have been interrupted as a safety precaution in the area of Hightown, Castleford. An explosion has also been reported and the cause of this subsequent incident is under investigation. Engineers from CE Electric UK and Northern Gas Networks are on site working with the police and fire to ensure the area is made safe and we are endeavouring to restore supplies as soon as possible. Copper theft continues to blight our network and, despite the recent fatality in Leeds, these incidents continue to occur at an average of four every day. We cannot stress enough how dangerous it is to tamper with electrical equipment on the network. We are pleading with these thieves to think about the consequences of their actions and how much they are personally risking for such a small return.”

A full investigation into the exact cause of the incident is now being carried out.