CABLE theft continues to be a major problem both nationally and in Yorkshire – but is the two-year jail term handed to a thief in Huddersfield enough of a deterrent?
Robert Law paralysed the Transpennine rail network after stealing cable from Golcar Viaduct in Huddersfield and then sold it at a scrapyard.
The disruption lasted for seven days and cost thousands of pounds to sort out yet 48-year-old thief Robert Law got less than £37 for the 130 metres of cable he stole.
The judge believes the two-year sentence should act as a warning to others. But Law is likely to serve half his sentence and could be released even earlier than that.
Perhaps more questions should be asked of the scrapyard and the checks it made as to where Law – who was homeless at the time – had got this cable from.
