A fire at a substation in Preston has caused £30,000 worth of damage as well as knocking out power for over a thousand local residents.

The incident happened on Wednesday morning (23 October) at 5.11am when the substation was broken into through locked doors and a fire started.

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Engineers at Electricity North West, the power network operator, say the culprits risked their lives in a failed attempt to steal electrical equipment, leading to a power cut which affected 1,149 customers.

Working alongside the local fire service, Electricity North West engineers restored power to 1,000 customers at 7.44am and all customer power was restored by 12.30pm.

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Martin Deehan, operations director at Electricity North West, said: “Firstly, I want to thank local residents and businesses in the area for their understanding and co-operation during this disruption.

“This incident is very serious. A huge amount of damage has been caused to the substation, and the culprits who entered cheated death. I’d be amazed if they left the scene unharmed.

“There is a reason we have yellow ‘danger of death signs’ in and around the electricity network. People must take note of these and stay away.”

Electricity North West engineers had teams working on site through the day and night into the early hours of Thursday morning to ensure a full repair was made to the substation.

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A spokesperson for Lancashire Police said: “We are appealing for information after thieves caused damage to an electricity substation.

“Police were called around 5.40am on Wednesday (23 October) to reports of a burglary and fire at an electricity substation on Kent Street, Preston.

“Attempts have been made to steal some copper wiring, which caused a fire.”

Read more: Preston crime news

Police have asked for anyone with information to call 101 quoting log 0162 of October 23.