Council officials have been left at a loss after traffic cameras and lampposts were chopped down in what is been described as an act of "mindless vandalism".
Enforcement officers for Hartlepool Borough Council are appealing after the incident, which saw two streetlights and a CCTV column chopped down.
Streetlights which also had traffic monitoring cameras attached to them, were cut down on Seaton Lane on March 5 and Coronation Drive on February 22.
The CCTV column in Thomlinson Road was cut down overnight between March 20 and 21.
While the council have little information currently on the incidents, it's believed that equipment such as an angle grinder is believed to have been used to cut through the metal columns which were then left dumped at the scene with their lights and cameras still attached.
In total, 16 streetlight columns on the Longhill Industrial Estate have also been tampered with and their fuses removed.
Kieran Bostock, Hartlepool Borough Council’s assistant director for Neighbourhood Services, said: “I am shocked that people would commit such mindless and reckless vandalism which has the potential to put the lives of those responsible and members of the public at risk.
“In chopping down the roadside columns, the vandals had to cut through live wires and they had no control over where the severed columns would fall.
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“The vandalism has also inconvenienced members of the public in terms of the streetlights being out, and it has also left the Council facing a hefty bill."
He added: “We are at a loss to understand the vandals’ motives, but perhaps they thought the cameras on the streetlights were of the type used to identify polluting vehicles in the ultra-low emission zones that exist in London and other cities. Of course, Hartlepool doesn’t have any such zones. The cameras on the damaged streetlights were simply being used to count passing vehicles.
“Although these incidents almost certainly happened at night, the streetlights were on busy roads – one of them close to homes - and people may have seen something. The vandalism may also have been recorded on residents’ doorbell cameras. I would urge anyone with information to contact the police.”
Hartlepool Borough Council are asking anyone with information to contact Cleveland Police on 101.
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