Tyne and Wear Metro: £1,000 reward after trains disrupted by cable theft

Metro trains are connected to overhead power lines

A £1,000 reward is being offered by transport bosses after Metro trains were disrupted by the second theft of cables in 24 hours.

Tyne and Wear Metro services have been affected by "substantial disruption" after two incidents on Thursday and Friday.

Operator Nexus said overnight security patrols had been "stepped up".

An investigation into the thefts has been launched by Northumbria Police.

Train services between Monkseaton and Wallsend were affected for four hours after cable was stolen at about 01:00 GMT Friday.

A number of rail replacement services had been in operation, while Nexus said there were delays to trains between South Shields and St James.

'Risking their lives'

The network was also affected for six hours from 07:30 GMT on Thursday following a similar theft in the Percy Main area of North Shields.

It follows an attempted theft of cables on New Year's Eve which also caused services to be disrupted for six hours.

"Cable theft causes huge disruption to our customers. It is dangerous to tamper with trackside equipment which has high voltage power running through it, and thieves are risking their lives by doing this," a Nexus spokesperson said.

"Anyone who gets caught faces prosecution and a possible prison sentence."

Nexus said it was supporting Northumbria Police by reviewing CCTV footage, and the reward was for anyone who provided information that led to a conviction.

A police spokesman said: "This type of behaviour will not be tolerated and officers are continuing to carry out regular checks across the system alongside Nexus."