Man admits stealing £7,500 of copper wire

A TWENTY three year old man has admitted stealing £7,500-worth of copper wire from industrial premises in Lerwick.

Sydney Johnson, of Sullom, had sentence deferred for a criminal justice social inquiry report after pleading guilty to the charge at Lerwick Sheriff Court on Monday.

Procurator fiscal Duncan Mackenzie said a member of the public spotted Johnson breaking into Scottish Hydro Electric’s Gremista Road premises on Sunday.

In what was clearly a pre-planned crime, Johnson cut a hole in the fence. The member of the public contacted an acquaintance who worked for the company and when they attended, Johnson was seen rolling three rolls of copper wire – each with a value of £2,500 – towards the fence.

Repairing the fencing will cost around £200, while Johnson also caused £100-worth of damage to a padlock.

Sheriff Philip Mann said it was “quite a serious matter” involving the theft of high value items. He granted Johnson bail and imposed a 7pm-7am curfew, adding he was considering “all options”.

Sentence was deferred until 30 March for reports to be prepared.