Crime-fighting charity Crimestoppers and partner Openreach (a BT Group Business) are appealing for information on an attempted telecommunications network cable theft that took place at Loch Carron between the villages of Lochcarron and Strathcarron Scotland [8 June 2012].

The incident occurred at 16:00hrs on Thursday 7th June, with the damage disrupting services to communities over a wide local area.

Crimestoppers and Openreach began working together in February 2011 and since then have been encouraging the public to help stop malicious damage being caused to this vital national infrastructure by contacting the charity anonymously with information.

Jim Ferguson-Hannah, Chairman for Crimestoppers Scotland Highlands & Islands, said: “Incidents such as this don’t occur often in this area, but this one left a number of people frustrated and angry due to the disruption it caused.

“Cable theft is taking place far too often around the UK, so I would urge anyone with information on this incident to contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 and help bring the person/s responsible for this crime to justice. We only ask what you know, not who you are.”

'Mindless attack'

BT Security general manager for Cable Theft, Luke Beeson said: “This mindless attack on our network has left entire communities isolated and without access to phone and internet connections.

Engineers have restored telephone service to most of the affected areas, with efforts on-going for the remainder, and are working round the clock in challenging circumstances to reconnect broadband users as quickly as possible. We would urge anyone who saw anything suspicious or knows anything about this attack to call Crimestoppers.”

The actions of cable thieves are completely indiscriminate and can often adversely affect the most vulnerable people in communities and disrupt life for others in so many ways. If you have any information about this incident, then please call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or fill in one of our secure online forms which can be found by visiting www.crimestoppers-uk.org.

-ENDS-

For more information please contact BT’s regional press office on 0800 085 0660

NOTES TO EDITORS

• Around 23 people are arrested and charged every day as a result of information given to Crimestoppers.
• Since Crimestoppers began in 1988, it has received over a million actionable calls, resulting in over 114,000 arrests and charges. Over £122 million worth of goods has been recovered and over £229 million worth of drugs has been seized.
• In 2005, Crimestoppers launched the UK’s Most Wanted on its website which allows the public to view images of criminals and pass on vital information about their whereabouts. It has been highly successful with over 1,000 arrests to date.
• Crimestoppers UK was founded by Lord Ashcroft, KCMG, Chairman of Trustees. In 1988, he launched Crimestoppers in the Metropolitan Police area. Crimestoppers’ ‘call to action’ is built on a three-way partnership between the business community, the police and the media.