Hundreds left without phone line after attempted cable theft (From News Shopper)

Hundreds left without phone line after attempted cable theft

12:04pm Wednesday 1st February 2012 in Bexley By Jim Palmer

Hundreds left without phone line after attempted cable theft

HUNDREDS of phone lines in Sidcup have been cut off and will not be reconnected for days after an attempted cable theft.

Retired newspaper compositor Bob Coote, 80, noticed the line was dead at his home in Longmeadow Road at around 12.30pm yesterday.

Mr Coote said: “I thought it was just me and my neighbour, but I went out and it was right down to Old Farm Avenue, by the station. All the phones are down.

“It is pretty serious. There are a lot of elderly people round here that haven’t got mobiles. If there is an emergency, what is going to happen?”

BT said the outage was down to an attempted cable theft.

A spokesman said: “We think sometime yesterday, someone cut into a cable underground. We assume it was an attempt to steal it, although none was taken.

“We don’t know exactly how many people are affected, but it is certainly hundreds.”

The spokesman said repair work had already started and that some customers were already back to full service, although it will take a few days for everyone to be reconnected.