Telephone cable theft cuts off homes in Napton

HOMES and businesses in Napton lost telephone and internet services after thieves stole more than a mile of copper cable on Friday.

The criminals stole one length of cable - leaving another damaged - at an undisclosed location near Napton reservoir. It has not yet been confirmed exactly when the theft took place. The earliest reports of loss of service were received on Friday morning (August 12).

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The cable belongs to Openreach, part of the BT group, although customers of all telephone and internet providers may have been affected.

A BT spokesman said around 170 people had reported faults, but up the cable had the capacity to serve up to 600 homes and businesses.

He added: “From today (Monday) people should start to see their service being restored but it will probably be the middle of the week before all customers are reconnected.”

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Openreach and Crimestoppers are offering a £1,000 reward for anyone giving information that leads to prosecution for cable theft.

Call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

• See Friday’s Courier for more on this story.

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