Thieves have cut off and stolen cables from EV chargers at a retail park in Birstall, West Yorkshire.
The leads were hacked off the Raw Charging units at the Junction 27 retail park, with Raw’s website showing all five of the chargers are currently out of action.
The company released a statement on social media saying it is aware of the incident and is “working urgently to repair the damage and restore service as quickly as possible”. Raw also apologised to customers for the disruption to its services.
The firm added that theft has been reported to the police, with West Yorkshire constabulary telling the Telegraph and Argus that no suspect has yet been identified.
EV cable theft is now a well-established crime, as the copper contained in the leads can be sold to unscrupulous scrap-metal dealers or via online forums.
But while each lead might contain copper with a scrap value of £25, the impact on industry is significant, with firms spending up to £1,000 to replace a single cable, while also losing revenue due to charger downtime.
Charging firm Instavolt previously told the BBC that cable theft cost it £410,000 between November 2023 and April 2025, while industry insiders estimate such incidents doubled in number in 2024 compared to the previous year. Thieves are also known to sometimes return to the same location and steal leads soon after they have been replaced.
Some firms are applying synthetic DNA to cables in an attempt to dissuade theft and track down both the stolen cables, and those responsible for their removal. The substance, which is invisible to the naked eye, is unique to the item it is applied to, allowing scrap cables to be traced to their original location, and rubbing off onto thieves’ hands and clothing, tying them to the crime.
