A RECORD number of people are stealing electricity, new figures revealed today, prompting fears that the cost-of-living crisis is pushing individuals into “increasingly desperate” situations. 

Electricity theft, which can be carried out by tampering with wires or bypassing meters, can lead to injury and even death and is punishable by up to five years in prison. 

The Home Office figure show that police forces across England and Wales received 3,600 reports of “dishonest use of electricity” in the year to March, up 13 per cent on 2020-21 and the most since comparable records began in 2012-13.