Coventry Canal thefts

IT SEEMS unbelievable why thieves should want high voltage warning signs, but these are being stolen from the Coventry Canal.

These are the signs warning anglers not to fish within the area surrounding overhead high voltage power lines, with the wooden poles being pulled out of the ground and taken away.

20 removed in one week

The recent thefts are the latest in a string of similar incidents in which large wooden posts carrying the warning signs were pulled out of the ground, with the waterway between Coventry and Nuneaton a particular hotspot with around 20 of the posts being pulled out in the space of one week.

The posts are installed to warn anglers of the presence of overhead power lines and to mark a 30 metre exclusion zone in which angling is not permitted. Power lines are uninsulated which means that, if fishing rods and poles made from carbon fibre and similar materials get too close, the electricity can jump from the cable to the rod.

Required by law

As the posts are required by law the recent spate of thefts has meant British Waterways operations teams have devoted a significant amount of time responding to these incidents. The teams have been able to recover some of the posts that were dumped in the canal and on adjacent land but others appear to have been taken away.

Darren Green, Waterway Manager, explained:

"These posts are required by law to warn anglers of the dangers of overhead power lines. It's not clear whether the posts are being removed for firewood or simply as an act of vandalism, but this irresponsible behaviour poses a very real danger to anglers—particularly young or inexperienced anglers who may not be aware of the risks.

"We would urge those removing the posts to think about the potential consequences of their actions and ask anyone noticing such behaviour to report it to us".