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Police nab man linked to cable theft as he emerges from underground
22nd January, 2026 03:00 PM
A video released by police shows the moment an alleged underground cable thief was arrested in Birmingham city centre.
Footage shows officers “encouraging” the suspect to emerge from underground by climbing a ladder taking him back to street level.
West Midlands Police said officers were flagged down by members of the public as a group of men were trying to steal cables on Great Charles Queensway at around 7.30pm on Tuesday.
Two men were arrested on suspicion of theft, and a van carrying cables was recovered, the force said.
Officers were then made aware that a third suspect was underground so, with the help of a police dog named Riot, “encouraged him to climb up the ladder and on to the street, where he was also arrested on suspicion of theft”.
Three men, aged 48, 45 and 37, remained in custody as of Wednesday.
Det Supt Dave Sproson, of Birmingham Police, said: “This was a fantastic response from our firearms, dogs and Birmingham officers, in bringing three suspects into custody quickly.”
New Year’s Eve trains disrupted by cable theft
Rail passengers were warned of delays and cancellations until the end of New Year’s Eve after 656ft (200m) of signalling cables were stolen in South Yorkshire.
Several routes have been affected following the copper theft between Doncaster and Sheffield, which Network Rail said it was alerted to at about 04:00 GMT.
A spokesperson said engineers had been working on repairs to keep trains moving but passengers were advised disruption was expected until the end of the day.
Network Rail said the theft had so far caused 13 train cancellations with 83 trains delayed by a total of 15 hours and 39 minutes.
Services run by Northern, including local services in South Yorkshire and trains running from Doncaster to Hull and Scarborough, are among those affected.
CrossCountry services between Edinburgh and Birmingham New Street, which call at Sheffield, Wakefield, Leeds and York, have also been affected.
TransPennine Express services running between Liverpool Lime Street and Cleethorpes, which call at Doncaster, have been hit as well.
