A ROAD in Jaywick was plunged into darkness after mindless thieves stole earth wires during a raid.

People living in Wolseley Avenue were left without street lights for three days Tendring District Council (TDC) has been left to pick a £1,000 bill for repairs.

The thieves ripped out a terminator box and stole the earth wires over the weekend which affected all four street lights.

The incident was reported to TDC by a member of the public on Monday and within hours UK Network Power was on scene to make urgent repairs which will cost the Council around £1,000.

Power was restored and the lights were back working on Tuesday.

Nick Turner, TDC’s Cabinet Member for Environment and Coast Protection, said the thieves caused a significant amount of damage.

“This incident happened over the weekend and before Monday morning when it was reported to us,” he said.

“We are responsible for those lights and we called in UK Power Network straight away and gave them an order for urgent repairs. To their credit they were there very quickly and got the power back on.”

Mr Turner said it is likely to end up with a bill between £800 and £1,000 and will come out of the public purse.

“If anyone saw anything suspicious in Wolseley Avenue over the course of the weekend I would urge them to contact the police or the Council,” he added.