Elizabeth Fish

A group of men suspected of operating a cable theft gang have been arrested in the Lincolnshire area.

British Transport Police raided addresses in Lincoln, Grantham, Newark, Wellingborough and Doncaster, arresting 10 men on suspicion of cable theft.

Over 90 officers attended the early morning raids, carrying out house searches and seizing a number of items for forensic examination, including cutting tools, mobile phones, computers and laptops, receipts and bank statements.

In Lincoln, a 25-year-old man was arrested, with four men aged 22, 29, 39 and 40 arrested in the Grantham area.

Three men, aged 22, 23 and 44 were arrested in the Doncaster area. Another man aged 34 was arrested in Newark and a 44 year-old man was also arrested in the Wellingborough area.

All ten men are now being questioned in police custody.

Detective Inspector Stuart Mellish, leading the operation, said: “These arrests follow a complex seven-month investigation by officers from Operation Leopard, BTP’s team of officers dedicated to tackling cable theft.

“We believe this organised gang have been working together to steal cable, valued in the region of over £1.2 million, from across England over a one year period.

“Railway cable theft is blighting our infrastructure and disrupting the lives of ordinary people on a daily basis, but we have teams of officers dedicated to tackling the problem and who have been really effective.

“Recently we’ve seen significant reductions in cable-related offences on the railway in the North East — a 69% reduction, which is great news.”

He added: “I’d like to thank members of the public for their ongoing support in helping us in tackling this crime and ask that people continue to report any suspicious behaviour near the railway, or in their communities, to police so we can work together to drive this crime down further.”

Parents in Lincolnshire are being advised to check if their children’s school will be affected by the planned teachers’ strike action on Wednesday, March 26.

Parents can check closer to the to date whether their school or academy will be affected by the strike on the council’s school closures page.

Also read: School closures announced so far (March 25)

The teachers’ unions have voted in favour of a strike on March 26 over changes to pensions and pay and “excessive workload”.

According to a survey from the Department for Education, a typical primary teacher is now working nearly 60 hours per week, with the average primary head teacher working 60.2 hours. This is an increase of nine hours per week since 2010.

Meanwhile, secondary school head teachers average 63 hours and the teachers work nearly 56 hours a week, almost six hours a week more than in 2010.

Lincolnshire County Council is advising parents to check with the school or local authority if their school plans to close for the day in the run up to the strike.

The council also asked schools and academies to report if they are having to close or partially close on the day.

Debbie Barnes, Director of Children’s Services at the County Council, said: “We have advised schools that if they will be without staff they have to consider whether they have adequate cover to ensure the safety of children.

“This will determine whether they should close for the day or not.

“Schools that are closing should be informing parents and carers as soon as possible so that they can make arrangements for their children.”

David O’Connor, Executive Director for Performance and Governance at the County Council, added: “This is not a local dispute and is likely to affect many public services across the country.

“As a responsible authority, we have been making plans for this industrial action for many weeks and are working towards agreeing service exemptions with the trade unions to ensure vital life and limb services are maintained.

“Plans are also in place to minimise any disruption to other council services and we have asked managers to plan services around possible reduced staffing levels if some are taking leave to look after their children.”

A number of teachers and other academics will congregate on the day for a rally at The Stags Head pub on Newport in Lincoln, from 12.30pm.