(9 February 2008, England) Police are hunting for a badly scorched would-be copper thief after finding a hacksaw embedded in an 11,000 volt power cable. The thief also left a lit blow torch at the scene. He is presumed to be badly charred, and not the brightest bulb in the socket.
Copper prices have more than doubled in the last four years, sparking a wave of copper thefts across the globe. Thieves targeting copper wire and copper pipes have suffered many fatalities and serious blows.
"The sheer stupidity of cutting through power cables should be glaringly obvious to everyone," said a spokesperson for the power company. "At the very least, it would have created an almighty bang and showered him with molten copper."
800 customers were left without power for several hours.
"Is it worth your life?"
"The mystery thief from Upscale has been sighted..."
"I reckon this was the bloke who, on exactly the same date in February, cost me a day's cover by cutting through the signals cable at Hilsea, stopping me from going from Havant to Southsea. Hope his balls got fried too."