Vandals cutting cable lines
Police want the public’s help to catch vandals who are deliberately cutting Openreach cables in Lincoln leaving some residents without access to phone lines or online access.
In two cases, vulnerable people were left without their Lifeline service connected.
In the past week reports of 19 deliberate cable cutting incidents in the Moorland Avenue and Birchwood Avenue areas.
The cables are being severed at the base of the telephone poles in residential streets and connected to homes.
Each time the cables are cut, scores of homes are being left without access to phone lines and the internet for up to several days while emergency work is undertaken to repair them.
“This can leave people in an incredibly vulnerable position if they rely on a phone line to be able to make or receive call or connect to online support services,” said a Lincolnshire Police spokesperson.
“We are treating this as deliberate criminal damage and we are working with Openreach as we investigate. Now we need your help.”
The incidents took place in this past week on Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and yesterday (Thursday).
“We have been given a description of a potential suspect we are keen to understand more about. She is described as white, around 35-years-old, with dark hair, and seen riding a pink and red mountain bike carrying a blue Co-op bag.
“If you live or have driven in or around Moorland Avenue or Birchwood Avenue on those dates, please check dashcam or doorbell footage to see if you may have captured anyone matching that description, or any other suspicious behaviour or people close to telephone poles.”
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