West Yorkshire copper theft gang left 45,000 homes without power and put lives at risk during 'incredibly dangerous' crime spree across the north of England

The gang put residents' lives at risk as they plundered 92,000 metres - around 57 miles - of hard drawn copper wire belonging to Northern Powergrid

The Castleford-based gang are thought to be responsible for over 250 separate incidents of theft in a conspiracy lasting 17 months.

The wiring was then sold to two crooked scrap metal dealers who arranged the onward sale of the high value metal.

Six men were jailed at Leeds Crown Court after a painstaking investigation which cost close to half a million pounds.

The court heard how the gang would usually strike in the middle of the night and target overhead power lines in rural areas.

The thieves used "crude" methods to carry out the offences and placed themselves in grave danger of electrocution.

Live power lines were cut with bolt croppers attached to extendable poles

None of the gang members had any knowledge of working with power lines.

During the course of the offending 45,000 homes in Yorkshire and the north east were left without power

The offending had the potential to electrocute people and damage electrical devices within homes.

Members of the public who came across damaged power lines and those responsible for investigating the offences were also placed in danger.

The gang delivered over 20,000 kgs of copper wiring to corrupt scrap metal merchants John Crooks and Jonathan France and were paid around £70,000 in total.

France - who is already serving a ten-year prison sentence for fraud and other financial crimes worth £6m - went on to launder over half a million pounds through the bank account of a business associate.

Four men were sentenced after pleading guilty to conspiracy to steal between September 2013 and February 2015. They were:

Jamie Davies, 32, of North Street, Castleford. Jailed for 18 months.

Lee Robinson, 37, of Fryston Road, Castleford, Jailed for two and a half years.

David Southern, 34, of Langdale Close, Castleford, Jailed for two years, ten months

Richard Harper, 30, of Ackton Hall Crescent, Pontefract, Jailed for two years.

John Crookes, 32, of The Willows, Darlington, was jailed for three and a half years after being found guilty by a jury of handling stolen goods

Jonathan France, 48, of Walton Road, Wetherby, was given a two-and-a-half year sentence after pleading guilty to two offences of handling stolen goods and false accounting.

The sentence will run consecutive to the ten-year term he is currently serving.

After the case, DCI Andy Howard of the Yorkshire and the Humber Regional Organised Crime Unit, said: “These thefts took place over a number of years.

“Given the level of offending and the geographical range of overhead power lines targeted, the Yorkshire and the Humber Regional Organised Crime Unit investigated.

“The investigation was detailed and thorough and a lot of painstaking work went into bringing these people to justice.

"They now have time inside to consider the consequences of their actions.

“As well as being illegal, metal theft is dangerous with people potentially risking theirs and others' lives as well as causing temporary disruption to customers’ electricity supplies.

“I hope these sentences send out a message that it simply isn’t worth the risk.”

A spokeswoman for Northern Powergrid, the company responsible for the region’s electricity distribution network, added: “We take metal theft very seriously.

"It is incredibly dangerous for those who do it and to local communities as criminals leave behind live sections of damaged electricity cables and equipment which we have to repair to restore supplies.

“We’ve worked in partnership with the Yorkshire and Humberside Regional Organised Crime unit to successfully bring this case to court and we welcome seeing these individuals being brought to justice.

"It sends a clear message that will seek to prosecute any criminals who tamper with our network and disrupt our customers’ electricity supplies.”