Late on Monday, two thieves used a swipe card to drive a van up to Easynet's Brick Lane headquarters. Once inside they began loading equipment into their van. They were watched by two security guards - one was doing his rounds and the other watched by CCTV - but both assumed the thieves, with their legitimate swipe cards also had a legitimate reason to take the kit, according to our sources.

Other versions of the story appeared on internet service provider mailing lists. One version initially reported that it was an armed robbery and another put the value of the kit stolen at £6m.

According to other Easynet customers who emailed the Reg, the ISP was telling customers a power outage was responsible for the problems. The company is now owned by Rupert Murdoch's BSkyB.