The shocking moment a careless thief sawed through cables at an electric vehicle charging station was caught on CCTV.
The man, who has not been identified, cut the thick £15 cables at the EV charging hub at Decathlon Gallagher Retail Park, Wednesbury, just after 8.30pm on March 12, risking death by electrocution.
Dramatic footage shows the thug brazenly hacking away at the cables before dragging them out of sight of the camera.
At one point, while sawing away, the man looks up to discover he is being filmed by a CCTV camera above his head, leaving a concerned expression on his uncovered face.
He continuously looks around him to check no one is watching his criminality, but wore nothing but a baseball cap to conceal his identity.
Since the theft took place, national electric vehicle charging network Be.EV has put up 40-50 ‘Wanted’ posters in the area in a bid to catch the thief.
The poster shows a screenshot of the robber’s face as he realised he was being filmed, and is titled ‘Wanted: Do you know this man?’
A description on the poster reads: ‘This thug’s stupidity in stealing copper cables worth £15 each or less, means drivers can’t charge their EVs and his actions risked serious harm by electrocution.’
A man (pictured) stole charging cables at the EV charging hub at Decathlon Gallagher Retail Park, Wednesbury, just after 8.30pm on March 12
National electric vehicle charging network Be.EV has put up 40-50 ‘Wanted’ posters in the area in a bid to catch the thief
At the bottom of the poster, people are urged to contact West Midlands Police with any information.
EV charging theft is a massive issue for the industry, costing thousands of pounds every year.
Experts warned that thieves are after the copper in cables at rapid and ultra-rapid charger sites, in a spate of criminality dating back to November 2023.
It appears thieves are cutting charging cables to strip and sell the copper wiring inside to illegal scrap dealers, or on places such as Facebook Marketplace and eBay.
But, while the price of copper might be tempting, the cable wiring isn’t worth as much as vandals would imagine.
Last month, Britain’s largest and ‘most advanced’ electric vehicle (EV) charging station officialy opened its doors in Hampshire.
The InstaVolt Superhub, located near the A34 and junction 9 of the M3, boasts 44 charging points which promise to have you back up to full capacity in just 20 minutes.
Despite concerns over dwindling demand for eco-friendly vehicles, the massive facility aims to provide ‘industry-leading’ reliability, according to InstaVolt’s CEO Delvin Lane.
The man continuously looks around him to check no one is watching his criminality, but wore nothing but a baseball cap to conceal his identity
The thug brazenly hacks away at the cables before dragging them out of sight of the camera
The new InstaVolt Superhub, located near the A34 and junction 9 of the M3, boasts 44 charging points which promise to have you back up to full capacity in just 20 minutes
The Superhub features ‘ultra-rapid’ chargers capable of delivering power at speeds up to 160kW, making it one of the fastest charging stations in the country
The Superhub features ‘ultra-rapid’ chargers capable of delivering power at speeds up to 160kW, making it one of the fastest charging stations in the country.
In fact, a car like the Kia EV6 or Polestar 3 can go from 10 percent to 80 percent battery capacity in just 20 minutes.
The chargers cost users 85p per kilowatt – compared to between 10p and 15p that it costs to charge at home.
With off-peak rates dropping to a more affordable 54p per kWh from 9pm to 7am.
The station will also feature a solar farm and cutting-edge battery storage system, with 870 solar panels harnessing renewable energy to power the chargers.
A 4MWh battery storage unit will ensure maximum efficiency, while a blend of solar power, battery storage, and grid power will keep the chargers running at optimal capacity.
MailOnline has contacted West Midlands Police for comment.
