A thief has been jailed for 34 months for stealing copper electrical cable from a farm in Leicestershire.
Ion Preda was part of a group involved in stealing 15 rolls of copper cable, about 1,000 metres with a scrap metal value of about £3,000, Leicester Crown Court was told.
The cable was stolen from a farm in North Kilworth on March 9 last year, but belonged to Western Power and cost £8,000 to replace.
Prosecutor Alan Murphy said two abandoned cars containing bolt cutters and boot crampons were found near the farm and hand-prints with green powder from the cable were on both vehicles.
Preda (20) was found nearby and discovered to have both sets of keys to the cars.
Mr Murphy said: "He gave a nonsensical account of why he had been in the Leicestershire countryside at such a time and why he had the keys to vehicles containing items to be used in theft."
Preda, of High Street, Lye, Stourbridge, admitted theft, failing to attend a magistrates' court hearing and going equipped for theft.
He was sentenced to 34 months in prison – 28 months for the theft and a further six months for the other two offences.
Recorder Keith Raynor told Preda he had operated as part of a professional, well-planned enterprise to steal cable and had targeted the farm.
After his release, Preda faces deportation back to Romania.
In mitigation, Thomas Gaskell said Preda had moved from Romania to the UK to find work but had to return to his homeland as his mother was sick, which caused him to miss the earlier hearing.
