By Lilia Guan
Ku-ring-gai Council has been three times hit by thieves stealing copper from its underground cables in its sports field.
The Sydney-based council had hundreds of metres of cable have been stolen from three fields over the past two weeks; Barra Brui Oval, St Ives; Lindfield Oval 2 and Allan Small Park, Killara.
A media spokesperson for the council said the three attacks would’ve netted the thieves about $15000.
“We are working with police on the matter,” he said.
“The council is also stepping up patrolled security because what the thieves are doing is dangerous to and they could be electrocuted.”
According to the spokesperson the theft will see the council ramp up nightly patrols and improvement in the lighting of these fields at night time.
“There’s no estimate for the cost of this at the moment, but it’s something the council can ill afford with budgets being tightened,” he said.
The spokesperson said the council believes the thieves have intimate knowledge of the council’s facilities.
“Without giving too much away they are entering the sports ground through a man hole,” he said.
“Only someone with intimate knowledge of the council’s grounds would know where they are located.”
Ku-ring-gai’s spokesperson said councils are now faced with a new type of theft.
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