A MAN who risked his life to steal high-grade copper parts from an Oldham electricity sub-station has been jailed.

Steven Barker, 54, of Stamford Close, Stalybridge, was found guilty of burglary at Manchester’s Minshull Street Crown Court.

On Monday he was sentenced to nine months in prison. Barker broke into the sub-station on Bleasby Street, which supplies Oldham’s electricity, shortly after 3am on January 24 last year.

He suffered burns to his hands, arms, face and eyes when a component exploded in his face.

Barker then walked to Clarkesfield Road where he called for an ambulance, claiming that someone had flashed something in his face and set him on fire.

He was taken to the Royal Oldham Hospital and later transferred to the medical burns unit at Wythenshawe Hospital, but would not say how or where he received his injuries.

Firefighters and United Utilities put out the blaze but there were concerns that someone may have died in the fire. An investigation established the cause of the fire was the missing component and the police were called.

Detectives found a tool bag, silver flask and a small torch. Barker was later charged with burglary.

The fire on the 6,600-volt circuit, left 600 homes in the Waterhead area without power for almost an hour and caused £52,000 of damage.

Det Con Paul Cockburn, of Oldham CID, said: "Barker’s actions endangered not only his own life, but more importantly those of others, causing costly damage and disrupting the electricity supply of many families.

"The increasing price of metal abroad in recent years has led to more and more cases like this. As a police force we work closely with the British Metal Recycling Association (BMRA) to assist them in helping scrap metal dealers to comply with trading legislation and identify those traders who are unlicensed and trading illegally."