Army veteran to help police capture copper theives

Apr 8 2009 by Adrian Pearson, The Journal

HE served in the first Gulf War, but now retired army officer Richard Lungmuss plans to use his experience to help police capture drug addicts stealing copper from railway lines.

Network Rail’s route director has made it a personal mission to see train delays reduced and says catching the thieves would be any “easy gain”.

Mr Lungmuss, a former Royal Artillery lieutenant colonel who served in the first Gulf War, believes current efforts to catch thieves are not having a big enough impact.

And now he is hoping to hide camouflaged security staff at known hotspots, including parts of the North East, and catch thieves red-handed. Copper thefts cost Network Rail £6.3m in the past financial year, with a further £2m bill for keeping lines secure.

The rise in thefts was blamed on the spiraling price of copper and increased demand from China, although that market has largely disappeared recently due to the economic downturn. However, much of the signal wire thefts are in large enough quantities to convince police it has been stolen for commercial uses.

But Mr Lungmuss said there is another, smaller side to the theft problem.

“When we look at the sections of line being taken it is sometimes very small, maybe 10 metres or less.

“I don’t think it would make sense for anyone wanting to make a lot of money out of it to do that. I think in some areas it is just local drug addicts who are passing it on the scrap yards.