Two men involved in a £51,000 metal theft from a West Midland electricity sub station have avoided jail because it took so long for the case to reach court.

Police were alerted by the noise Terence Day and a young accomplice made trying to get the haul into a West Bromwich block of flats, Wolverhampton Crown Court heard yesterday. Day and another man, Carl Norton, had earlier stolen three transformers, each worth up to £17,200, from a sub station in Smethwick.

But the offence was committed in July last year and the case had been delayed by technical problems that were not their fault, admitted Miss Sati Aujla, prosecuting.

The final decision to go ahead with the prosecution was not made until May this year after more information had been gathered, the court was told.

Miss Aujla explained: “People heard a banging noise in the early hours of the morning and called officers who found Day dragging two of the metal components into Kendrick House in West Bromwich.

“They could not explain what they were doing or where they had got the property from and so they were arrested after the further component had been found in a lift.”

Norton voluntarily went to a police station just hours later to confess that he had also been involved in the incident, explained Mr John Evans, defending.

Norton, aged 23, from Kendrick House, Green Street, West Bromwich and Day, 34, of Broom House, Beaconview Road, Charlemont Farm both admitted theft.

Each had previous convictions but neither had committed further crime in the 16 months since since the offence, the court was told.

They were given a year in jail suspended under supervision for two years with 150 hours unpaid work.

Judge Philip Parker QC told them: “I hope you realise how near you came to going inside but because the prosecution dragged their heels you are better off now than if you had been prosecuted a year ago.”