POLICE have charged four men with burgling Fiddler’s Ferry power station.

The quartet, all of Yorkshire, are accused of breaking into the Cuerdley site armed with tools to assist with the theft of copper cabling.

The power station began operations in 1971 and was fully commissioned by 1973, operating for nearly 50 years before its decommissioning in March 2020.

The land was acquired by Peel NRE in July 2022, with the firm behind plans to regenerate the site, which has been earmarked for housing and industrial use following demolition work.

The demolition process is already underway, with two of the four iconic cooling towers being blown down in December last year, with the clearance of the remainder of the site due to be completed in stages.

However, four people have now been charged with illegally accessing the site and stealing high-value material.

Those charged are Sean Johnson, aged 37 and of Abbots Road in Selby, North Yorkshire; Daniel Holmes, aged 33 and of Fairfield Hill in Bramley, Leeds; John Marshall, aged 36 and of Doncaster Road in Brayton; and Colt Brown, aged 41 and of Intake Square in Middleton, Leeds.

Each are charged with going equipped for burglary and burglary, with Marshall also facing a count of dangerous driving.

It is alleged that each trespassed at Fiddler’s Ferry on November 19 last year and stole copper cables worth £7,000.

Moreover, it is also alleged that they had in their possession items to use for burglary – namely a reciprocating saw and blades, an angle grinder and discs, and a ‘large amount’ of batteries and spanners.

In addition, Marshall is alleged to have driven a Ford Transit van on Johnson’s Lane in Widnes in a dangerous manner.

All four were due to make a first appearance in relation to the allegations before Warrington Magistrates’ Court yesterday, Tuesday.

The outcome of the hearing has not yet been published by the court.