Broadband blackout for thousands after cable theft

Cable thieves left thousands in a South Yorkshire village without broadband and telephone connections for two days.

People living in Thurnscoe and surrounding areas said elderly relatives were left cut off and with no other means of contacting their loved ones due to the disruption on Friday and Saturday.

South Yorkshire Police said it had received reports of manhole covers on Nicholas Lane in Goldthorpe being stolen on Friday morning, with wiring damaged in the area. An investigation was under way, a spokesperson added.

An Openreach spokesperson said: "We're sorry to everyone who was affected. Cable theft is a serious crime and can have a significant impact on communities."

The spokesperson said engineers "worked as quickly as possible to repair the extensive damage".

As well as homes, businesses were also affected.

Luke Wheat, Reform UK councillor for the Dearne North Ward, which was affected, said: "The impact of this mindless criminal theft is still rippling through our community.

"For many of our elderly and vulnerable residents, this is their only means of connection to the outside world."

He added: "Those responsible are a disgrace to society and should hang their heads in shame."

Wheat said he would write to the Mayor of South Yorkshire, Oliver Coppard, and local MPs "to demand stronger policing and action to stop more communities falling victim to this senseless criminality".

As well as the problems in Thurnscoe and surrounding areas, residents in Carcroft, Doncaster were also reportedly left without wi-fi and telephone connections last week due to cable thefts.

Insp Alison Carr said there had been a "spike" in cable thefts across Doncaster since the start of summer.

"Since the beginning of the spike we have recovered over £1m worth of copper cables from the Doncaster area," she said.

"This figure only pertains to the weight of the copper inserts within these cables, not the money it takes to install the cable and repair the areas where they are taken from."

Carr said cable theft was a "threat to public safety", adding: "These cables are often found around key infrastructure points like traffic lights and phone lines, which causes significant problems when they are removed."

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