Metal thieves cut power to paralysed Dudley man's life support system
Reckless thieves cut the power to a paralysed man's life support system when they ripped down and stole the overhead electricity cables supplying his home.
Wheelchair-bound Tim Joplin's wife Ruth today spoke of how the metal thieves put his life in danger.
Their actions led to the 61-year-old former Dudley College lecturer having to be brought downstairs by an ambulance crew, using mountain rescue style equipment, because the power cut stopped the lift in their house, in Gornal, Dudley, from working and he needed to get to an hospital appointment.
Batteries kicked in to keep Mr Joplin's ventilator operating but his wife, Ruth, twice had to get them charged back up at a nearby garage to keep the vital machine going.
Two other nearby homes also spent yesterday without power after cables were cut from electricity poles, in High Arcal Road, in the early hours. Mrs Joplin, a lecturer in anatomy at Birmingham University, said: "Whoever stole our power supply put my husband's life at risk. I want to convey to whoever it was that they put him in a life-threatening situation.
"I realise people will go to any lengths, to feed their families or whatever, but they need to look at what they are doing and think of the knock-on effects and dangers of what they are doing."
Mrs Joplin praised kind staff at the nearby Texaco garage, in Himley Road, who allowed her to charge the ventilator batteries as they had only a few hours' life. She said the power cut started at about 2am and the batteries immediately kicked in, but her husband had been 'upset and distressed' at not being in control of the situation.
By 1pm, when the power had still not been restored, a West Midlands Ambulance Hazardous Area Response Team had to bring Mr Joplin downstairs on an airlifted stretcher so that his wife could take him to Papworth Hospital, in Cambridgeshire, for his regular treatment.
Western Power Distribution workers have now rigged up a generator to provide electricity to the three houses until a permanent repair can be done. While West Midlands Police has launched an investigation.
Western Power Distribution spokesman Pami Mandair said: "Metal theft is a nationwide problem but it has escalated in the last few years and is currently costing Western Power Distribution around £1.5 million a year to put right.
"It affects our substations – but even overhead and underground lines have become targets," he added.
