Break-in at NIE substation 'put lives at risk'

Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE) says vandals who broke into one of its high-voltage substations in north Belfast put lives at risk.

More than 150 homes were temporarily left without power on Christmas Eve as a result of the incident.

Engineers worked through the night to reconnect supplies.

Roy Coulter of NIE said the vandals had set a piece of equipment on fire and that children could have been in danger as the unit was left open.

"They really put a lot of people at risk here on a very cold night," he said.

"They also put themselves at considerable risk and the Fire and Rescue Service who had to put the fire out."