Criminal gangs suspected of power cuts hitting hundreds of Doncaster homes

Power firm Northern Powergrid has sent letters to dozens of homes near to the city centre after a recent spate of blackouts which the firm believes are the responsiblity of crime gangs bypassing and overloading systems.

The tactics are regularly used by those involved in drug cultivaton, with high powered lamps used to grow cannabis plants.

In a letter sent to residents and seen by the Free Press, Kara Chapman, Northern Powergrid customer service manager for South Yorkshire, acknowledged there had been “multiple interrupions” to the power supply and added: “As you may already be aware, there have been a number of blown fuses on our low voltage electricity network which have caused the losses of power.

"Our teams have responded as quickly as they could to isolate fault sections and restore supplies.

"We have also been working to identify the nature of these faults.

“We have now investigated further, and we have identified unusual overloading activity in your area.

"We have reported the activity and are working closely with South Yorkshire Police to identify the suspicious overload activities.

"We're monitoring our network and working hard to reduce the number of customers affected by the interruptions and to protect our equipment from damage.

"We are also responding to any power cuts as quickly as possible.

“Tampering with electricity is extremely dangerous and can cause electrocution or fire. Interfering with our power network or the internal wiring of a property - risks electric shocks and burns, which could be life-changing or, at worst fatal.

"It is incredibly irresponsible criminal behaviour, which can start fires that endanger the perpetrators and other people in the building and the general public.

“We would urge anyone who has any information or concerns about individuals or criminal groups illegally extracting electricity or interfering with the power network to contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111 or use the Stay Energy Safe number 0800 023 27770 and website stayenergysafe.co.uk/report-energy-crime to report it.

“We are doing everything possible to identify the issue. Please be assured that if your power is interrupted, we will attend to restore supplies in timely manner and if you do experience any further power cuts, please report this.”