Cable thief was electrocuted

A man who tried to steal copper cables and a boiler from tunnels under a disused mental hospital died when he tried to tap power for his electric saw, an inquest heard yesterday.

Keith Greaves, 40, had gone with relative Neil Knight to service tunnels under the former lunatic asylum in Cornwall on Easter Day. They were part way through dismantling the copper tank when they ran out of power from the diesel generator for the electric jigsaw.

Mr Greaves, from Truro, Cornwall, tried to tap power from 240V cables running through the tunnel using a "snap-on" connector.

He was electrocuted and died at the scene under St Lawrence's Hospital in Bodmin.

Andrew Cox, the deputy coroner for Cornwall, recorded a verdict of accidental death at the inquest at City Hall in Truro.