David Woodard, of Crouch Avenue, Barking, was sentenced after detectives from British Transport Police found a water bottle with his DNA at one his crime scenes.

Blackfriars Crown Court heard how on 14 December 2009 lineside alarms on track earthing cables were triggered at just after 10pm near to Ferry Lane, Rainham, Essex.

Police were called and officers conducted a search. While there was no trace of thieves in the surrounding area officers found approximately 150 metres of cut cable lying on the ground.

During the search a rucksack was recovered at the base of one of the stanchions close to the cable.

”This indicated that the person or persons responsible were more than likely disturbed during their attempt to steal,” said investigating officer Detective Constable David Stewart.

“Within the rucksack was a pair of gloves and a water bottle,” he added.  “These items were sent for forensic analysis and the water bottle later returned a match to a certain David Woodard.”

As a result of another alarm activation on January 13, 2010 a team of Land Sheriffs security officers carried out a search of the area of the Creekside viaduct, also on the high-speed line in Essex.

On arrival at location they saw a lone man -David Woodard - in dark clothing running away from them within the boundary fence of the operational railway.

”The security team followed him and Woodard proceeded to evade them by hiding in the undergrowth,” said Det Con Stewart.

”BTP officers were called in and with the assistance of officers from a Metropolitan police dog unit, conducted a search of the area.”

Police dogs discovered a pair of bolt croppers and a pair of gloves near where Woodard, who was promptly arrested, was hiding.

Around 300 metres of cable was recovered, which had been cut into three lengths of about 100 metres each.

Woodard was later charged with attempted theft, criminal damage and endangering safety on the railway.

He pleaded guilty to all the charges at The City of Westminster Magistrates Court and was sentenced to three years in total at Blackfriars Crown Court on Friday, 23 July.

"Stealing from any railway is incredibly dangerous, but none more so than High Speed 1," said Det Con Stewart. "Not only does it present severe dangers to those who trespass on the line it also causes real headaches for passengers in terms of delays or disruptions to services."

“BTP will continue to seek methods of detecting and preventing cable theft and will endeavour to secure prosecutions on every occasion,” he added.

“I hope that other cable thieves will take note of the length of sentence that has been imposed by the court in this case and realise that cable-related crime can have harsh judicial penalties.” 

Richard Schofield, Network Rail’s area general manager, said: “The theft of cable is a constant drain on our resources and cause of considerable disruption to rail services. This is not acceptable.  We will continue to do all we can to deter thieves and to bring those responsible to justice.

"I would also ask anyone with any information to report their suspicions to Crimestoppers – they could receive up to £1,000 as a reward.”

Ben Ruse, High Speed 1 spokesperson, said: "This sentence rightly highlights the dangers of trespassing on High Speed 1 and is a testament to the team work of all those involved in the capture and the prosecution of the individual."