Three-day crime spree sparked by Bromley blackout

A major blackout in south-east London led to a mini-crime wave, with the number of offences soaring over the three days of darkness.

Criminals took advantage when a fire at an electricity sub-station left 60,000 homes without power.

It took EDF Energy several days to fix the fault, and new figures show the crime rate in parts of Bexley, Orpington, Bromley and Dartford increased dramatically in that time.

During the week of the power cut, the total number of crimes recorded rose to 153 from 103 the previous week.

Bromley was worst affected, with offences soaring by 68 per cent from 41 to 69 including a rise in burglaries from five to 12, cases of criminal damage from six to 11, theft and handling stolen goods from 12 to 20 and complaints of violence from 10 to 14.

Kent police said Dartford saw crime surge from 34 cases to 49, but burglary jumped the most - there were nine reported cases during the power cut, up from two the previous week. Theft rose by four cases to nine. Wards in Bexley fared better, with only seven additional crimes recorded, bringing the total to 35.

James Cleverly, London Assembly member for Bexley and Bromley, and a member of the Metropolitan Police Authority, said: "It's disappointing but unsurprising. Clearly some people saw an opportunity to take advantage."

He added: "Unfortunately when the lights go out, certain people will recognise that as an opportunity. Things like burglar alarms will stop functioning and when there are no street lights, disappearing into shadows becomes that much easier.

"It's a very personal thing being burgled and I think it's particularly galling to think there are people that see the difficulties other people have and take it as an opportunity to heap more woes on top of them."

Police said that during the powercut, which took place from 20-23 July, extra patrols were put on the street.

DCI Andrea Bishop, of Kent police, said: "The rise could not be attributed entirely to opportunist criminals."

An EDF spokeswoman said the main repair work was now completed.