Criminals cut cables providing internet access
RESIDENTS LEFT WITHOUT WIFI AS OPENREACH WIRES SNIPPED
MORE than 200 homes were left without internet because criminals cut the cables which provide internet access to residents in Hanwell.
The internet went down in the early hours of the September 12 for hundreds of homes and was due to malicious criminals who had mindlessly snipped the wires.
The wires went up telegraph poles and were supposedly cut by a group of three people.
Houses in Church Road, Milton Road, Framfield, Dryden Avenue, Drayton Bridge all suffered lost connection to the internet.
Police are searching for suspects and residents have reported that three people were seen cutting the wires.
Openreach operatives, who look after the network, went round houses asking for information in the area.
They appealed for people who had CCTV to provide this to them so they can work with the police to catch the perpetrators.
The mindless criminal damage has caused problems for people working from home and left local residents confused about the criminals’ motives.
Michael Oatley, 37, a marketing executive, said: “I live in Hanwell and work from home.
“I lost my wifi, which I thought was just a personal thing for the house.
“As it got later on the Sunday I was worried about work and figured I’d have to work in a local cafe.
“I had a knock on the door from a man from Openreach who explained the situation.
“He said it wasn’t a technical fault but a criminal one.
“I was just confused. I instantly thought ‘what on earth.’ What sort of damage is that? They weren’t even doing graffiti, they were just snapping our cables.
“I wish I saw them. Maybe it was another wifi provider undercover? I have no words and can’t even think what their motive was.”
One resident commented on a local site and said: “Why are they cutting wifi cables? Is it sabotage? Are they just trying to target people’s lives?”
The majority of the internet cables are now repaired and Openreach workers are looking to add extra security to stop it happening again.
An Openreach spokesperson said, “In the early hours of Sunday morning, multiple live cables were maliciously cut on the side of telegraph
poles in Hanwell, affecting landlines and broadband for nearly 200 customers using the Openreach network.
“We attended the area and made it safe and our engineers are working to repair the damage as quickly as possible.
“We take incidents of this nature very seriously and are working with the police to identify the perpetrator(s).
“We apologise to anyone affected by the damage and remind everyone in the local area to report any problems with their phone or broadband service to their service provider who will contact us.”