Scrap metal thief who made £100,000 in one year caught stealing railway cable in Mansfield
A scrap metal thief who made more than £100,000 in a single year was finally caught when he stole three drums of cable from a railway compound in Mansfield, a court heard.
After a padlock went missing from the compound gates, and Luke Buck's Ford Transit was spotted nearby, police fitted a GPS tracker to one of the drums in June 2022, said Matt Hayes, prosecuting.
At 8.50pm, on July 7, the tracker began moving from Mansfield to a caravan park in Newark and then to a registered scrap metal dealer.
Broken-up cable reels and drums were found at the dealership and the tracker was discovered under bushes on the A617.
CCTV also showed Buck travelling between Mansfield and Newark with the £6,000 drums of cable on his van’s flatbed, with his partner and one of his children as passengers.
Buck was arrested on July 29 and a search of his caravan revealed several small bags of cannabis, £1,090 in cash and scrap metal dealer receipts.
Checks showed a total of £102,932.28 was paid into his bank account between July 2021 and August 2022, but he had no licence to deal scrap and there were no records of tax or income.
Nottingham Crown Court heard Buck has 11 previous convictions for 15 offences including burglary, and thefts of copper wire, alloy wheels, and railway sleepers.
Gareth Gimson, mitigating, said Buck deserved credit for his guilty pleas and all of his offending happened in the same window of time.
He has stayed out of trouble since 2024, stopped using cannabis, and he now has a legitimate job.
His family would suffer if he is jailed, Mr Gimson added.
Buck, aged 38, of Crabtree Road, Dunscroft, Doncaster, admitted theft and possessing criminal property on November 28.
On Tuesday Judge Mark Watson said he couldn’t be sure all of Buck’s gains came from stolen goods and the changes he has made since his arrest would be “undone” by a prison sentence
He said a “lengthy” community order would enable him to support his family but warned that if he breaks it he will be sent to prison.
Buck received a three-year community order with 20 rehabilitation days and 300 hours of unpaid work. His van was confiscated and he was ordered to pay £7,000 compensation to Network Rail.