Rising Sun pub and homes in Wootton left without power after thieves target Scottish and Southern Electric work sites

VULNERABLE homeowners were left without electricity, a pub was forced to close, and sewage poured into a river, thanks to thieves who stole power cables worth thousands of pounds.

Sites were struck over the weekend in Wootton, near New Milton, and in Totton last week where, as reported by the A&T, damage to a wastewater plant caused effluent to be discharged into Bartley Water.

Wootton resident Peter Stevenson was among homeowners in the area repeatedly left without power following the thefts.

They occurred at temporary generators which have been in place during ongoing work by SSEN on an underground power line in the village.

The company said it had brought in “additional security monitoring” to safeguard its equipment, with completion of the work anticipated yesterday (Thursday).

Mr Stevenson said: “There’s been several nights now where we’ve been left without power.

“All the homes in the area are being run off big temporary generators, and I think thieves took or damaged those cables.

“I’ve spoken to some of the SSEN workers at a nearby site and they said cables had been stolen overnight and that’s what been causing these issues.”

Criminals cut off and stole cables from a generator at a work site in Wootton Farm Road, Brockenhurst, early on Monday morning.

Thieves also made off with cables from an SSEN site in Rhinefield Road, Wootton, early on Saturday.

Also affected by the sporadic power cuts was the Rising Sun pub in Bashley Common Road, Wootton, which was forced to close on Thursday 23rd March and later again on Saturday.

Pub manager Sasha Greenshield said the pub lost thousands of pounds worth of trade.

Staff were forced to turn away around 300 diners and drinkers, with pub owner Fuller’s now asking SSEN for an explanation and compensation.

The two raids came just days after thieves stole power cables from a Southern Water treatment plant near Totton on Monday 20th March, causing wastewater to be discharged into Bartley Water.

A spokesperson for Southern Water told the A&T: “The intruders cut the power supply and stole cabling for the back-up generator, causing the site’s operations to shut down and wastewater flows to release into Bartley Water.

“We used tankers to manage wastewater flows and limit the environmental impact, and our teams spoke to local residents personally to keep them updated.”

An SSEN spokesperson said the company was working with Hampshire police after the theft of the cable in Wootton.

They said: “The cabling was stolen from generators powering homes and businesses during the repairs, and resulted in some 75 customers being without electricity from 4am-10am on Saturday (25th) and also the same 75 customers from 4.45am-12.30pm on Monday (27th).”

The spokesperson added: “Some of the customers who lost power supplies due to the theft are registered as vulnerable and require to have a consistent supply of electricity to meet their needs.

“SSEN has had to put additional security monitoring in place to protect the generators and the power they are supplying while these works are ongoing.

“Engineers hope to progress works to enable the removal of the generated power as soon as possible, with full completion of the essential works anticipated by Thursday (30th) March at the latest.”

A police spokesperson told the A&T: “We received a report of theft from an SSE site on Wootton Farm Road in Brockenhurst between 4.42am and 5.40am on Monday 27th March.

“It is reported that a quantity of electrical leads had been cut and stolen from the premises.

“A similar incident was reported at another SSEN site on Rhinefield Road in Wootton on Saturday 25th March.”

Anyone with information should call Hampshire police on 101, quoting crime reference number 44230120867.