Cable Cleats Help Tackle Copper Cable Theft on Railways

Published 15 Mar 2019

Cable Theft – Photo Credit: Network Rail

uploaded by Chris Dodds - Thorne & Derrick Sales & Marketing Manager

Cable Cleats

Crime Busting Cable Cleats Combat Copper Theft

At its peak, cable theft was costing the UK economy £770 million per year but now cable cleat and clamp manufacturer, Ellis Patents, has designed and developed a tamper proof rail cable cleat to beat the thieves.

The Ellis Patents cable cleat design means thieves will not have the time to remove cables before the police arrive.

Reports earlier this month highlighted a dramatic reduction in the incidents of copper earthing and cable thefts from UK railways, and now cable cleat manufacturer, Ellis Patents claims to have developed a means of completely eradicating the problem of rail cable theft.

At its peak, cable theft was estimated to cost the UK economy £770 million per annum.

And even now, after a major crack down by the British Transport Police (BTP), which has been aided by £5 million of Home Office funding, there were 2,700-hours of delays and compensation payments of over £12.7 million in the 12-months to April 2013.

UK Rail Industry: thieves target signalling cables, overhead power lines and even metal fences to sell for scrap.

Ellis Patents, the global leader manufacturer of cable cleats, has designed and developed a tamper proof rail cable cleat that its Managing Director, Richard Shaw says will stop thieves in their tracks.

“The biggest issue with this crime is the ease and speed with which thieves are able to disconnect and remove long lengths of copper cable,” he said.

“The BTP action has aimed to cut off the route to market by banning cash payments by scrap metal dealers in England and Wales and increasing fines for offences under the Scrap Metal Dealers Act, but while the crime remains relatively simple the problem will remain.”

Ellis Patents Tamper Proof Cable Cleats

“Ellis’ tamper proof cable cleat is designed to make removing copper cables nigh on impossible. Its box design makes the job of detaching the cable cleat from the cable it is securing laborious and time consuming, while the requirement to fit the cleats at regular intervals along cable lengths means thieves will simply not have the time to remove cables before the police arrive.”

“Quite often the best solution to a problem is the simplest and our tamper proof cable cleat is certainly a simple, but effective deterrent,” added Richard. “By delivering a great level of security, both in terms of the strength and number of the fixings, we are confident that it will help bring an end to copper cable theft.”

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LV, MV & HV Jointing, Earthing, Substation & Electrical Eqpt

Thorne & Derrick International are specialist distributors of LV, MV & HV Cable Installation, Jointing, Duct Sealing, Substation & Electrical Equipment – servicing UK and global businesses involved in cable installations, cable jointing, substation, overhead line and electrical construction at LV, 11kV, 33kV and EHV.