HOW TO STEAL A HOSPITAL
£1m crime gang loots the NHS Inquiry call after thieves pick site clean
Acrime gang plundered more than £1 million of metal from a derelict hospital using tunnels to loot the building, we can reveal. The well-drilled outfit took months to strip valuable high-voltage cables, pipes and lead from the site. The raids only stopped when the disused hospital, in Glasgow, was picked clean. They even stole the CCTV security cameras. Politicans called for an inquiry yesterday as expert Jim Scott said the haul would easily reach £1m, adding: “They were organised and working night shifts. The only thing they didn’t have was a clock-in, clock-out machine.”
Criminals plundered more than £1 million of metal and wiring from a derelict hospital using a hidden network of disused tunnels to loot the building, we can reveal. The well-organised gang spent months stripping valuable high-voltage cables, pipes and lead work in repeated raids on the old Stobhill Hospital in Glasgow. They used utility corridors beneath the buildings to move around the site, where they had erected temporary lights. They even stole a CCTV security camera. Experts estimate the market value of the haul would easily reach £1m and police believe the operation was only halted when the hospital was picked clean, with nothing left of value inside. Paul Sweeney, MP for Glasgow North East, discovered the extent of the thefts after visiting Stobhill in September for a site visit in the wake of a major fire which had been started deliberately. Now Mr Sweeney has written to NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde to express his “shock” at the state of the old hospital. “It’s a scandal,” said Mr Sweeney. “Millions and millions of pounds worth of property has been taken, destroyed or allowed to fall to bits at a time when the NHS is so strapped for cash. This site was a treasure trove, but its value has been plundered by criminals.” Mr Sweeney also criticised the health board for failing to heed warnings to secure the site after it was closed following the opening of the new Stobhill hospital. Gang members are understood to have accessed the old hospital grounds by driving to Littlehill golf club in Bishopbriggs then crossing a narrow bridge hidden from view by trees. Tools were used to pop the rivets securing the base of the vertical posts on the metal security fences so they appeared undamaged but could be parted like curtains to allow access. They would use a welding solder to temporarily hold the posts in place after they left and avoid them “swinging like wind chimes”. Under the cover of darkness, they squeezed through ducts into the underground utility tunnels which connect the hospital buildings, and are lined with large steam pipes and vast stretches of high-voltage cables. The power was still live, so the gang used a skilled electrician to isolate the sections of cable before it was severed and stolen. The gang used the mains supply to rig up temporary lighting in the tunnels to make their task easier as they returned time and again to methodically strip the valuable scrap metal and cables. They suffered an apparent setback when they accidentally caused a blackout in the new hospital after cutting the wrong cable and leading to the temporary lights being discovered. Mr Sweeney said: “That was the reason they powered the site down. There had still been live electricity and they had rigged up temporary lighting. It shows