Engineers were left speechless after discovering a steel mast had been erected just one metre away from 132,000-volt overhead electricity lines.
The highly dangerous situation in Burnley was discovered on Wednesday by Electricity North West tree cutting teams who were carrying out maintenance in the area.
Teams reported the situation immediately and engineers attended the Kiddrow Lane site and quickly made the decision to switch out and earth the circuit for safety reasons. No customers were without power as a result.
In what could have been a potentially fatal incident, the power network operator is now issuing a stark warning to anybody who works close to its network.
“The incident seen in Burnley is incredibly serious and one that without a doubt could have been avoided,” said Paul Killilea, Electricity North West’s asset and investment director.
“I cannot stress enough that one wrong move could have resulted in a death. People need to be aware of their surroundings, particularly if they’re erecting steel poles, scaffolding or even ladders anywhere near our network.
“Taking a moment can make all the difference, if you are unsure, pick up the phone and call us. We are more than happy to help and ensure work is carried out safely when in close proximity to the network.”
Electricity North West engineers remained on site until the installer attended and within several hours, the pole was taken down.
The 132,000-volt network is the highest voltage Electricity North West operates at. Its high voltage network also operates at 66,000, 33,000, 11,000 and 6,600 volts. The standard 230 volts in a domestic property is more than enough to kill.
Engineering standards require any assets to be several meters away from the 132kV network due to the possibility of the electricity jumping. At such high voltages electricity can jump up to three meters through the air to a conducting material, making it live.
Anybody who sees anything dangerous in or around the power network should call their local network operator on 105.
