Engineers on scene to repair damage after 2,000m of phone and broadband cable stolen near Sleaford

It was reported earlier that police were appealing for witnesses to the theft of copper cable from Mareham Lane at Scredington, leaving villagers without landline and fibre broadband connections since the incident last Thursday.

A spokesman for Openreach has now revealed the extent of the disruption and how soon services will return to normal as engineers are on the scene. He said: "It’s really disappointing that local people here are bearing the brunt of criminal behaviour. More than 2,000 metres of our underground cable has been stolen, and the network damaged.

"Engineers are on-site working hard to carry out repairs but it’s a significant piece of work that is unfortunately going to take time. Working with underground infrastructure can be sometimes problematic and often unpredictable. We will have a clearer idea of exactly how long later today or early tomorrow morning (Wednesday)."

He added: “Around 180 properties are without phone and broadband. We know how disruptive this is, and we’re doing everything we can to carry out the repair as quickly as possible. Due to the location of the damage, temporary traffic lights will be in place to keep our engineers safe whilst they work.”

The cable is thought to have been taken from Mareham lane at around 8.30pm on Thursday, January 27.

Police are appealing for witnesses or anyone with information following the theft.

A Sleaford police spokesman said: “The offenders may have been along the side of the road while they stole the cables, and they may have had a van working at night in a remote location.

“We are keen to hear from anyone who saw anything suspicious in the area at the time of the offence, as well as any information about vans carrying large amounts of cable in the surrounding area. We are particularly keen to hear from anyone who may have dashcam footage which could help our enquiries.

“Officers are now undertaking extra visible patrols overnight in a number of rural locations.”

In recent months there have been at least two incidents where contractors working on other stretches of Mareham Lane have suffered thefts of equipment including a digger.

If you can assist with the investigation or have dashcam footage, contact police on 101 or email [email protected] quoting incident 170 of January 28.

If you wish to remain anonymous, you can report via the independent charity CrimeStoppers on 0800 555 111 or online.