POLICE raided the home of a suspected copper thief – only to discover he was away on holiday in Llandudno.

The suspect's mum answered the door in her dressing gown to tell officers their target was away with his wife.

So officers spoke to the wanted man on the phone instead – and he agreed to come in for questioning when he returns to Butt Lane from North Wales later today.

British Transport Police (BTP) had linked the 29-year-old to the theft of railway signal cable in South Cheshire.

They planned to arrest him at the address in Nursery Close at 8am yesterday and seize any incriminating evidence.

But they were told he would not be home until later.

Sergeant Steve Lawman, who led the raid, insisted the operation had been worthwhile.

He added: "There was no way of knowing that the suspect would not be at home.

"Obviously it is a disappointing result, but we hope this will send a message out to those who carry out cable theft.

"We are on your case, and we will come to get you."

Around 70 metres of copper signal cable was stolen from the Stoke to Crewe line at Alsager on April 18.

Forensic examination of the scene provided DNA evidence which led police to the suspect in Nursery Close.

The operation involved six officers and two police sniffer dogs, which were not used.

A simultaneous raid was carried out in Northwich in connection with an unrelated cable theft in Cheshire.

And the result was similar there as the 21-year-old male suspect was not at home.

Sgt Lawman said cable theft was a dangerous crime which needed to be stamped out.

He added: "It is a significant offence, causing problems to rail passengers by disrupting their journeys.

"But those carrying out the thefts are also putting their own lives in danger. By cutting into high voltage power cables, the thieves are putting themselves in real danger of suffering serious injury, or being killed."

Over the last four years there have been six thefts and attempted thefts recorded in Staffordshire.

The BTP says thefts increase with the price offered by scrap dealers for metal.

The price of heavy copper is currently £3,400 per tonne, up from £2,800 per tonne 12 months ago.

Network Rail route director Jo Kaye said: "It causes delays and inconvenience to passengers, and can be extremely dangerous as far as the criminals are concerned.

"There is also the cost implication. As well as repairing the damage and replacing stolen cable, we have to pay compensation to the train operators for delays to their services."

Nationally, that runs into millions of pounds a year.