HUNDREDS of Barry Island households were left power-less for two consecutive days following a fault and then a “mindless” theft of a fixing aid.

423 customers woke up to a power on Monday, November 4, after a fault developed in Western Power Distribution’s Plymouth Road substation, Barry Island, at 3.15am until supply was resumed at 7.30am.

The company said it had identified that a transformer had needed to be replaced, but thieves risking their lives targeted a temporary measure generator to steal diesel meaning residents were minus a supply again on Tuesday, November 5.

A Western Power Distribution spokeswoman said: “Diesel fuel was stolen from the temporary generator which meant that the same 423 customers went off supply again. To prevent any further theft of fuel from the generator our engineers have now connected the temporary generator to a mains supply.”

The company’s engineers now plan to replace the damaged transformer at 9.30am on Friday, November 7.

The spokeswoman added: “This means that customers in Barry Island will be off supply for a two to three hour period while this essential work is carried out. We are contacting the 423 customers likely to be affected, by letter to inform them of the schedule of work taking place on Friday.

“The mindless theft of diesel from our generator not only caused added inconvenience to our customers, but also put the lives of those responsible for the theft at risk. Our equipment carries very high voltage electricity and we would urge the public to always keep their distance.

“We would also like to apologise to those customers who have been inconvenienced.”