A telecoms company worker has been sentenced for stealing batteries worth £21,500 which backed up a north Cumbria mobile phone mast’s power supply.
Carlisle Crown Court heard a power interruption was detected on a Vodafone mast at Beacon Edge, on the outskirts of Penrith, at around 2.50pm on May 28 2020.
Prosecutor Brendan Burke explained that the mast was served by grid power. But in the event of that grid supply ever going down, batteries were in place to provide back-up.
At the time, Martin Whalen, 39, of Rosefield Road, Dumfries, was employed by communications firm Ericsson which had the contract for mast maintenance.
An irregularity was detected electronically on May 28. An engineer attended the following day and discovered 28 12-volt EnerSys batteries — kept locked in a storage cabin due to their value — were missing.
“The lock had not been forced, suggesting someone had used a key card belonging to Ericsson to access it,” said Mr Burke. There was further evidence of an “inside job” with professional steps having beentaken by the thief to tape up loose wires and prevent the power supply failing.
This pointed to Whalen, whose mobile phone number was investigated and sited to that mast at the right time — as was the company vehicle he had been supplied with in the course of his work.
Whalen admitted burglary and the theft of 36 batteries — valued at £21,500 — which he’d sold.
The court heard Whalen had been sentenced at Dumfries Sheriff Court, in April 2022, for another similar theft committed around the same time as the Cumbria crime. This had resulted in him losing his job.
Defence lawyer Jeff Smith, in mitigation, said: “Mr Whalen, for want of a better phrase, ‘lost it’. He began gambling, resulting in the loss of his relationship, and this led to offending both here and over the border at around about the same time.”
Whalen had been a man of good character before this offending, and had since taken steps to rebuild his life.
Recorder Brian Whitehead imposed a 12-month community order comprising supervision aimed at providing rehabilitation, and a three-month night time curfew as punishment. Whalen must also pay £1,200 compensation.
“I understand that you took (the batteries) and sold them to pay for a gambling addiction that you had at the time,” said Recorder Whitehead as he passed sentence.
“There was some degree of planning and organisation. It was clearly made easier for you than a member of the public by your access to the mast.”
