Witnesses are being sought after three incidents of attempted cable theft in the areas surrounding Chelmsford caused severe disruption on the rail network.

The incidents took place between Wednesday, 11 and Monday, 16 May 2011, and the disruptions caused significant delays to rail services, which frequently run through the area, causing misery for many passengers, who suffered considerable delays as a result.

Inspector Nick Brook, the officer leading the investigation for BTP, said: “The act of stealing cable is an extremely dangerous crime which is costly to the rail industry and to the thousands of passengers who rely on the rail network.

“In these particular incidents the thieves left empty-handed but caused major disruption to thousands of passengers.

“In this area, the cables do not contain copper; they are solely aluminium and have a practically worthless sell-on value.

“I’m now appealing for anyone who witnessed anything suspicious in the area, or who has any information regarding these incidents, to contact us.”

In total 150 trains were affected, including 27 cancellations.

Anyone with any information about cable theft should contact British Transport Police or Crimestoppers where they can report the crime anonymously and could receive up to �1,000 reward if their information leads to a conviction.

Contact British Transport Police on 0800 40 50 40 quoting reference B9/LNA of 16/05/2011. Or call the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.