Colchester copper piping thefts 'leaves residents without heating'

Janette Abernethy, who has lived in Hickory Avenue, Greenstead, for more than 25 years, said she’d “never had an issue” in the area until thieves struck in the early hours of Thursday morning.

Mrs Abernethy said her neighbour, who lives in a ground floor property in the same building, was awoken by her dogs barking at around 3am.

“When she went outside, she heard and saw nothing else,” she said.

“I live in an upstairs maisonette and didn’t hear anything either.

“In the morning, I noticed we had no hot water. My husband went out to check the gas, and that’s when he noticed copper piping had been stolen.

“There is piping at about the height of a door – 6ft 6in or so – running down the outside wall, they had taken the middle section, leaving the bottom section where it connected to the gas meter and the top part.

Mrs Abernethy said her reaction to the theft of the pipes “wouldn’t be printable” in a newspaper.

“It was just dismay, really, that someone would steal something like this,” she said.

“I got in touch with Colchester Borough Homes, and their contractors told me they’ve been dealing with this issue for about eight weeks, since all the gas meters were moved outside on these properties.

“The family below us have young children too.”

Mrs Abernethy says she was told repairs could take between two and three days.

A spokesman for Colchester Borough Homes said: “Unfortunately, the theft of copper piping from our residential blocks is causing inconvenience for some of our residents.

“There has been a spate of thefts across Colchester in recent weeks.

“We reported the incidents to the police as soon as we were aware and have replaced the pipe work as quickly as possible.

“Deterrent is being applied to pipework, along with CCTV, and we would urge residents to look out for any suspicious behaviour and report it to the police or to our customer service team.”

Anyone with information about the thefts can call Essex Police on 101.