Police have arrested two suspected copper thieves at a north Adelaide football club, amid a spate of copper cable thefts from lighting pylons at amateur sporting clubs.
Key points:
- Two people accused of stealing copper cables from Adelaide football club
- Other clubs and sports have also had copper stolen
- This affects training and night matches
A 45-year-old man from Mawson Lakes and a 42-year-old woman from Elizabeth were arrested at Salisbury Inter Soccer Club around 1:00 a.m. and charged with theft and property damage.
Officers said they were in possession of tools used to remove copper cables and a number of cables were located nearby.
Club president Bianca Simeoni said Inter’s Salisbury venue was just the latest to be hit in an ongoing wave of violence.
“A lot of clubs in the northern suburbs have been affected by this problem. I think it’s 14 or 15 clubs right now.”
she said.
“We were contacted by another local club who had this problem two weeks ago and were hoping to train at our venue.
“We were talking about how this could happen to us.”
No one was charged with stealing copper from other clubs.
Other sports have also affected
Copper wiring for lights at the nearby State Hockey Center was stolen last month.
The centre’s lights “should be fully functional again next week”, Port Adelaide District Hockey Club president and former Kookaburra Dennis Meredith said.
Homes, construction sites and businesses in Adelaide, Murray Bridge and Whyalla have also had copper stolen in the past month, according to South African Police.
Earlier this month, the South Australian Office of Recreation and Sport issued a warning to sporting clubs, urging the community to remain vigilant.
Night training will be canceled at Salisbury Inter Soccer Club while the lights are repaired, which could take around a week.
Football training canceled
Six senior teams were scheduled to train this evening ahead of Sunday’s matches, with a further 12 teams involved on Monday.
“The council was contacted to say they had turned off all the lighting so they could repair what was left,” Ms Simeoni said.
“We’re lucky, I guess they haven’t revealed everything, and I hope we solve the problem sooner than other clubs.”
She said that although police had not linked this incident to previous ones, the club believed the same people could be responsible for all the thefts.
“I hope this will put an end to this recurring problem affecting football in our region,”
she said.
Police refused to grant bail to any of the accused.
They are scheduled to appear in Elizabeth Magistrate Court on Friday.
The price of copper has risen about 6 percent over the past six months, to $2.92 per pound.
