Residents in Avonside were left without power early this morning after thieves attempted to steal cable from power lines in the area.

An Orion spokeswoman said about 41 customers lost power at around 2am due to attempted cable theft near Retreat Road and Highbury Place.

“This outage was caused by an attempted cable theft. All customers have now been restored.”

The spokeswoman said “we would like to remind our community that if you see damaged equipment like cut or hanging lines, an exposed distribution box, or an open kiosk door, please call us on 0800 363 9898.

If you see anyone acting suspiciously around electrical equipment, please call Police immediately on 111.”

In August, Acting Detective Sergeant Steph Trengrove of the Christchurch Tactical Crime Unit said the thefts could disrupt essential services, and came with serious safety risks.

“While nobody has been seriously injured while attempting to steal the copper from these lines yet, there is a very high chance that serious injury or death will occur if this activity continues,” she said.

Detective Sergeant Trengrove appealed to residents to keep an eye out for any suspicious or unusual activity or sounds, and let police know if they had any information that could identify the culprits.