A "MINDLESS vandal" put his life at risk when he cut the power to almost 2,400 homes.

Ignoring signs warning "danger of death", the vandal, or vandals, broke into the electrical substation in Pengam Road, Pengam, on Monday afternoon.

At 4pm a switch was then flicked, cutting off the power supply to 2,392 homes for an hour. Most of the homes affected were in Aberbargoed. To break into the substation the culprit had to cut three Yale padlocks and break through two doors. A spokesman for Western Power, which runs the substation, said there were 11,000 volts of electricity running through it. He said: "Anyone being electrocuted by this much power would have been killed.

"Whoever did this did not consider the dangers to themselves. It is an example of completely mindless vandalism."

He added that the power cut affected a wide area. "This was very inconvenient for the people affected," he said.

A Gwent Police spokesman said: "Whoever did this was lucky to survive. They could have been killed."

Pengam councillor Kevin Dawson said the break-in was "extremely silly". "In this kind of situation there could be a fatality."

Anyone with information should contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.