A man suspected of trying to steal metal from a South Yorkshire power station received "horrific burns" when exposed to 66,000 volts of electricity.

Police said the 21-year-old broke into an electrical substation on Green Lane in Thurcroft on Saturday evening.

The local man received serious burns to his head, chest and arms after touching wiring.

He was taken to Sheffield's Northern General Hospital where his condition is described as serious but stable.

'Charred bodies'

South Yorkshire Police said that the gate into the substation compound had been forced and metal piping had been removed.

Peter McCormick of CE Electric UK, the company that owns the electricity distribution network in Yorkshire, said: "The perpetrator has received an excruciating electric shock and has been left with horrific burns.

"He is extremely lucky to be alive.

"To the untrained and uninitiated, substations are potentially fatal and in the past our staff have discovered charred bodies in substations after similar incidents."

He added that substation break-ins can cause up to 30,000 properties to be left without electricity.

"It's bad enough that this individual has put his own life on the line, but the total lack of concern for the safety of others is unforgivable," Mr McCormick said.