Telephone problems worsen in Kintbury

British Telecom has reported further attempts to steal underground cable, causing more faults in the Kintbury area

EVEN more people are now without phone lines in Kintbury and the surrounding area after British Telecom (BT) reported further attempts to steal underground cable at the weekend.

On Friday, Newburytoday.co.uk reported that BT had received 328 reports of faults with the telephone lines within the Kintbury and Hamstead Marshall area, affecting homes and businesses, which BT spokesman Paul Hayward had been the result of ‘malicious cuts' to an underground cable in an apparent attempt to steal it.

Engineers have been working to repair the problems over the weekend, however Mr Hayward said today (Tuesday) that BT had suffered two further attacks on the network over the weekend, which had seriously delayed efforts to restore services to local residents.

As a result, BT has now received about 475 reported faults with phone lines and internet connections associated with these incidents.

Mr Hayward said: “We would like to apologise to those affected for the inconvenience caused whilst this extended repair work is carried out.

“We would like to assure those affected that our engineers are doing all they can to repair the network at these additional sites, and restore services as quickly as possible.”

In addition, Mr Hayward added that BT is appealing to local residents to be vigilant and report any suspicious behaviour in or around street cabinets or manhole covers immediately.

He said: “Network security is of paramount importance to us and we are constantly reviewing our processes to make sure our infrastructure protection is robust.

“To combat cable theft, BT's security unit has established a nationwide intelligence-led taskforce whose strategy includes attending crime scenes, liaising closely with police and visiting scrap metal dealers.”

He said BT was also deploying ‘Smart Water', a forensically coded invisible paint that tags metal thieves and protects the telecom network on to the company's plant in the region and across the UK.

Mr Hayward added that more than 400 people had been arrested across the UK for stealing from the network in the past year and said that last week, BT joined forces with Crimestoppers to offer up to £1,000 reward for information leading to a conviction.

West Berkshire residents concerned about suspicious behaviour can report it directly to police on 0845 8 505 505, or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.