TWO separate thefts of railway cable caused three hours of late-night disruption to train services.

Two sections of cable were stolen from the line between Darlington and Middlesbrough on Monday night.

The two incidents were reported to British Transport Police at 9.30pm. Bus services were laid on between Darlington and Middlesbrough until the disruption was resolved by 12.30am.

The first incident took place beneath the A66 railway bridge, next to Snipe Lane, Darlington, where 60m of cable was cut and removed.

The second occured 650m further up the line nearer to Darlington, at where the line crosses Parkside. An additional 40m of cable was taken.

Detective Inspector Brian Buddo, from British Transport Police, said: "This theft of cable from the railway line caused significant delays to services in the area.

"The act of stealing cable is an extremely dangerous crime which is costly to the rail industry and causes hours of delays to the thousands of passengers who rely on the rail network.

"The disruption that is caused really is an attack on the community."

He said inquiries will be made with scrap yard owners and railway and telecoms experts.

Richard Lungmuss, route director for Network Rail, said: "The theft of cable is a constant drain on our resources and cause of considerable disruption to rail services."

He said there was a reward of up to £1,000 for people spotting such thefts.

Anyone with information should contact British Transport Police on 0800-40-50-40 quoting incident 608 of May 10 or Crimestoppers on 0800-555-111.