Openreach Offer GBP20K Reward for Info on Essex Cable Thefts

Network access provider Openreach (BT) are offering a reward of up to £20,000 – via Crimestoppers – for information that results in the conviction of those responsible for a string of copper telecoms (broadband and phone) cable thefts in Essex (England), which have recently plagued parts of Roothing, Epping and Harlow.

The price of copper is currently still very high and that tends to fuel increases in Metal Theft, with copper telecoms cable being a common target (examples here, here, here, here and here). The perpetrators, who typically drag the cable forcefully out of the ground (i.e. ripping out all of its connections and damaging the network kit as they go), have no regard for the often significant impact this can have on local residents and businesses.

Most such cases of Metal Theft are sporadic and so may only attract a smaller reward of £1,000. But occasionally you get organised gangs, which will often target critical infrastructure in areas where they know the police response is likely to be slower, although some can be more brazen and may mask their activity in urban areas with fake uniforms etc.

In this case, large sections of live cable were pulled from an underground communications network at Sparrows Lane, Roothing on Wednesday 21st July 2021, which was also targeted three weeks earlier on Friday 2nd July. On Thursday 15th July, a cable was also cut on the B181 Road in Epping Upland and again on 16th July on the A1025 Road in Harlow. All of the thefts occurred between 11pm and 2am.

The damage caused is said to have affected hundreds of Openreach’s broadband and phone customers in the area, including essential emergency services at each location. Significant damage was also caused to street furniture and farmland, where cables were dragged through fields.

Richard Ginnaw, Head of Security Services for Openreach, said:

“These incidents have severely impacted the day-to-day lives of people across these areas of Essex and this is why we have increased the reward on offer.

We are working closely with the police to catch those who are responsible and have deployed additional security enhancements across the area, but we also need your help. Please be vigilant, and if you saw anything suspicious on or around the time of the incidents, please report it. If you prefer not to speak directly to police, contact the charity Crimestoppers anonymously.”

We should point out that the newer optical fibre cables in gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband networks aren’t worth anything to such thieves, but this doesn’t completely stop the activity because some gangs will still rip out those cables on the assumption that they might actually be copper.

Naturally, if anybody has any information on these thefts then you should contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or use the online form – everyone stays 100% anonymous. Information that leads to the arrest and conviction of those responsible will attract the reward.