THREE Newport men who stole more than 200 metres of cable from the railway, resulting in almost 19 hours of delays, have been jailed for a total of eight years.

I what police called “a calculated and selfish attack on the rail infrastructure” Robert Thomas Andrews, 21, of Allt-yr-Yn; Nicholas Andrew Gales, 28, of Conniston Close, Old Barn Estate; and Jack Michael Brimble, 21, of Crescent Road, were all sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court following a British Transport Police (BTP) investigation.

The court heard that at 3.19am on Friday, 22 June 2012, BTP received a report of major signalling failure in the Llanwern area of Newport, on the mainline from Swansea to London.

Officers attended and found a white van parked near an access point. Two men were seen running from the van, across a field, but despite a search of the area, officers were unable to find them.

After returning to the scene, officers found a 100-metre length of cable on a grass verge next to the railway. A further 104 metres of cable was recovered from inside the transit van, where officers also found a man – later identified as Gales – locked inside.

Gales was arrested on suspicion of theft and a short time later, Brimble was also arrested after being detained by officers from Gwent Police who were on patrol in the area.

Various items were seized from the scene, including tools, mobile phones and a vehicle rental agreement for the van in the name of Robert Andrews. Text messages downloaded from the phones – which belonged to Gales and Brimble – revealed a conversation about making “big money for ten minutes’ work”.

The total cost to Network Rail associated with the theft was £34,025 - £11,930 to replace the cable and £22,095 in costs associated with the delays to trains. Services were delayed for a total of 1,128 minutes.

All three men were sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court on Friday, 10 May, after pleading guilty at an earlier hearing to theft of cable. Andrews was sentenced to 3 years 9 months imprisonment, while Brimble and Gales were each given 26-month sentences.

Detective Constable Chris Bolton, part of the investigating team from BTP Cardiff, said: “I hope the sentence handed down serves as a stark warning to others seeking to profit from stealing from the railway.

"Stealing railway cable is incredibly dangerous, and anyone seeking to do so risks serious injury – or even death – through electrocution.

“This was a calculated and selfish attack on the rail infrastructure. As a result of their greed, the main London to Swansea line suffered a total loss of signalling in the area for nine hours, which had a crippling effect on the morning commuter period.