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Man charged with stealing streetlamps worth £1m

Danny FullbrookBedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire
Steve Hubbard/BBC A lamp lit up against the early evening sky. It is tall and thin and there are ornate university buildings on either sideSteve Hubbard/BBC
Police said the stolen items included 1950s street lamps, taken from Cambridge city centre

Police investigating the theft of 45 streetlamps and lanterns worth an estimated £1m have charged a man.

John O'Sullivan, 20, of High Street in Barkway, near Royston, Hertfordshire, faces 38 theft charges relating to offences across Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Durham, Essex and the Thames Valley area.

There were also a further seven theft offences relating to incidents in Hertfordshire between 17 September 2025 and 17 March this year, police said.

O'Sullivan is scheduled to appear at Stevenage Magistrates' Court on 5 August.

As part of the investigation, the force recovered about 300 lights at a property in Barkway in January 2025.

Police said lanterns had been stolen from council offices, businesses, churches, schools and private owners.

Grade II listed 1950s street lamps, known as Richardson Candles, were taken from Cambridge city centre, the force added.

Two other people in their 60s were charged with handling stolen goods.

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