TRAIN passengers and companies are paying a heavy price for the havoc being wrought on railway lines by metal thieves.

First Great Western, which runs most services in Bristol and the surrounding area, says the number of cable thefts has almost doubled in two years, with 30 times as many services cancelled so far this year than in the whole of 2009.

The soaring level of disruption was revealed in evidence from First to a committee of MPs.

The company said that so far this year 117 incidents of theft had led to 381 trains being cancelled and 26,871 minutes of delays.

In 2009, there were just 61 incidents, leading to 13 cancellations and 4,416 minutes of delays.

In a statement the company said: "The impact of cable theft on First Great Western's business over the last three years shows a significant increase in incidents, with the length of delays and cancellations also worsening."

Avon and Somerset Police say the number of metal thefts is "considerably lower" than other areas.

But First Great Western says it is a "huge problem" in its region. It has called for a licensing regime for scrap metal dealers, and tougher powers for police and councils to close businesses where necessary, and a ban on cash transactions.

The company's statement comes as the Government considers changing the law to stamp out the problem.

MPs are today set to debate legislation that would crack down on the scrap metal industry. A motion by a Labour MP Graham Jones, left, proposes similar measures to those called for by First.

Transport Minister Norman Baker, who is part of a new taskforce set up to tackle cable theft, has been urged to sort the issue "once and for all". And asked to consider legislation, Mr Baker said: "Obviously we do not want to go to the statute book as the first option, but there is a serious problem, and if ministers are convinced that that option is a way to deal with metal theft, we will consider it seriously."

Network Rail which is responsible for lines across the country, says gangs repeatedly sever cable ducting with an axe and roll up hundreds of metres of wire, which they pile into the back of a pick-up truck.

The Local Government Association has called for an end to the "lax" regulation of the scrap metal industry to stop thieves who also target roofs of churches and public buildings for lead, and war memorials for lead, bronze and copper, as prices of the metals soar on the world market.

In August last year rail services between Bristol and London faced lengthy delays when trains had to be re-routed after thieves took copper cable used to power signals near Reading.

And in 2008 a thief was sentenced to almost three years in jail for using a crane and five lorries to steal 171 tonnes of steel railway track from the side of the main line from Bristol Parkway to London at Acton Turville, near Chipping Sodbury, during engineering works.