Thieves target copper phone lines

Thousands of homes have been left without phone or internet connections as thieves tear up manhole covers to steal copper cable.

A 300% increase in the price of copper has led to metal theft becoming the fastest-growing crime in the UK.
Criminals sell the cable on to scrap dealers who ship it abroad.

Read more: http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/news/article.html?in_ar...

Could this be the real reason BT wont scrap copper..... Waiting on its value to top out another few percent more?

In reply to a post by CARPETBURN:

Could this be the real reason BT wont scrap copper..... Waiting on its value to top out another few percent more?

If they wait any longer they won't have much of it left - it's the thieves that will get the value...

"In January more than £10,000 worth of copper cable was ripped out from under the A1073 Spalding to Eye link road development in Cambridgeshire. A 1,200ft section was taken after manhole covers were removed. "

Read more: http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/news/article.html?in_ar...

Funny how the full and correct story hasn't been told on this one, because when it was first reported, the story was slightly different. BT nearly a mile of brand-new copper cable allegedly worth over £10,000 into new ducts. The dragged the cable into the duct, then the duct open overnight with the cable ends sticking out. Remarkably, when they went back the next day to connect it up, it had gone. The police found the cable the following day on a nearby travellers' site, but because no-one knew anything about it, no charges were made.

I don't think I need to say any more about the lessons which should have been learned on this one, and why it will inevitably happen again.

Edited by deleted (Tue 23-Mar-10 08:48:57)

the A1073 Spalding to Eye link road

aha, pikey central - where I recovered my credit cards from the grass verge last year.

because no-one knew anything about it

yeah right. I'll try that - nick a car, park it outside my house and say I know nothing about it.

In reply to a post by yarwell:

the A1073 Spalding to Eye link road

aha, pikey central - where I recovered my credit cards from the grass verge last year.

because no-one knew anything about it

yeah right. I'll try that - nick a car, park it outside my house and say I know nothing about it.

You're lucky if you can get the law to go on to travellers' sites - the Cambridgeshire police tend to prefer safer persuits, like standing by the side of the road with a laser gun. But we have to treat them as an "ethnic minority", even though the majority of them come from Ireland, and have very plush homes over there, paid for by their life of crime over here.

Wish they would come here and rip up my mouldy copper/ali(most prob) cable up, i would then be able to get a better connection

Or the reason BT are rolling out FTTC... since there won't be much copper left!

Indeed they should build a great big f off wall around the encampments in/around peterborough and lock em in. I remember driving along Paston Parkway before they enclosed that bridge and you always wondered if a breeze block was going to come through your windscreen - scum

In reply to a post by Pgre:

Or the reason BT are rolling out FTTC... since there won't be much copper left!

LOL FTTC wont make any difference to copper theft....... Ill let others explain your fail there LMAO