Two arrested after suspected stolen cable recovered from vans

We have arrested two people on suspicion of theft after thousands of pounds worth of heavy duty power cables were recovered from vehicles on the M4 this morning (18/06).

Roads Policing officers pulled over two vans due to suspicions that the vehicles were significantly overweight and being driven in a dangerous condition.

The vans were brought into Badbury Weighbridge, where it was discovered that both contained significant quantities of heavy duty cables believed to be stolen.

The two drivers were arrested on suspicion of theft after being unable to account for where the cable had come from.

One of the drivers was further arrested for driving without insurance, driving while disqualified and using a vehicle in a dangerous condition.

They have been taken into custody for questioning and the vehicles have been seized.

Roads Policing Inspector Neil Duffin said: “This is excellent policing work which demonstrates how proactively investigating driving offences can and often does lead to the discovery of other offending.

“Not only is the theft of power cables financially damaging to the victim who then has to replace them, there could also be substantial danger placed on the sites where the cables have been removed from.

“There is also the significant risk to other road users that overweight vehicles pose. Overloading vehicles like these means their steering or brakes are likely to be impaired, potentially leading to serious or fatal collisions.

“We will continue to be robust with those found to be breaking the law on our roads.”