£500,000 worth of copper cable stolen from Rugeley Power Station
Four Londoners have been arrested after £500,000 worth of copper cable was stolen from Rugeley Power Station.
The men were arrested last night after police and security staff searched the disused site following an emergency call just after midnight.
It is believed hundreds of tons of cable have been stolen from the Armitage Road site, which is in the process of being demolished ahead of a new development.
It is not yet known over what time period the copper was stolen, or where it was taken to, but police said the stolen cable was recovered last night.
The men, aged 18, 20, 30 and 34 and from the London area, were all arrested on suspicion of theft after a 'large-scale search' and remained in police custody this morning.
A spokeswoman for ENGIE, the French utility firm that owns the site, said “Our on-site security team will continue to work closely with Staffordshire Police to deter trespassing at the Rugeley Power Station site.
"Safety remains our primary concern and we would like to stress to members of the public the dangers of attempting to gain unauthorised access to the site, which is an active demolition zone.”
The main A power station at the site has already been knocked down and last month Lichfield District Council approved an application to demolish the main B power station.
Meanwhile last week plans for a 'sustainable village' with 2,000 homes were revealed on the site.
It is hoped the homes will be entirely maintained by renewable energy, half of which will be generated on site through the use of battery and solar solutions.
As part of the plan ENGIE is hoping to built a ‘substantial’ number of commercial buildings on the 139-hectare site, bringing scores of jobs. Around 150 jobs were lost when the power station closed down.
Rugeley A power station opened in 1961 while Rugeley B power station, which provided enough electricity to power around half a million homes, followed nine years later.
ENGIE hopes to start the planning process in March and is calling on residents to get involved with shaping plans at a community planning weekend between November 30 and December 4.
