Infrastructure theft has risen to unbelievable levels across Somerset, Dorest and Wiltshire over the past six weeks, spiking more than 150%.
Possibly most troubling of all, our renewable infrastructure is at risk, with a known criminal group in eastern England targeting wind farms.
Recent intelligence from DataTech Crime Intelligence indicates that the group has returned to wind farm locations previously targeted in 2025 – powering down turbines, accessing them through hatch doors and entering through vents.
Richard Crisp, Senior Intelligence Analyst at DeterTech said: “A 45% rise in copper prices over the past year has made infrastructure materials even more desirable to criminals, and we’re seeing the impact of this with the jump in reported offences across the southwest. Cable and copper theft can cause disruption well beyond the value of what is stolen, affecting businesses and local communities – especially in remote areas.
“We’d urge site owners to review security across their sites: make sure cameras cover containers, storage areas and fuel bowsers, and check perimeter fencing for weak points, particularly as we enter the winter period, where darkness and the holiday period can make it easier for criminals to target sites.”
The theft includes copper, cables, fuel and tools – across Southwest England as a whole, copper offences rose by 400% and fuel offences by 500%.
When split up, this included £500 of copper stolen from a container at a commercial business (as copper has risen 45% in price in the last six months) and a cement mixer stolen from a construction site – alongside much more.
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