Metal Thieves Target Shropshire’s Severn Valley Railway
Sheets of copper worth around £70,000 have been stolen from the Severn Valley Railway in Bridgnorth.
Thieves broke into the Boiler Works sometime after midnight last Thursday through an air vent. Once inside the works they quickly disabled a security alarm before hot-wiring a 30-ton gantry crane, which they used to lift 11 copper sheets into a vehicle.
The copper sheets weighing around six tons in total had been cut as replacement sections for the fireboxes of several locomotives at the heritage railway.
The theft comes as copper prices are near to a record high. The popular tourist attraction has already taken swift action to install new security systems since the burglary should the thieves attempt to return.
Severn Valley Railway today said it was offering a reward of £5,000 for information leading to the recovery of the copper.
