CABLE thieves have cut off a village’s telephones for the second time this year.

Underground wire linking West Bergholt to the outside world was stolen on Monday, cutting off 450 homes and businesses.

The incident follows a spate of telephones going dead in the village for a week in March, after a stretch of cable along Colchester Road was stolen.

West Bergholt Surgery has had to relocate from its premises in Erle Havard Road to North Hill Surgery, in Colchester town centre.

Deborah Wakefield, from the practice, said: “It’s been a real frustration for us and if only the people who do this could realise the problems they cause.”

Pharmacist Bhanu Patel has lost the phone line at both the West Bergholt Pharmacy, in Chapel Road, and her Valley Crescent home.

She said: “All BT has told us is it is fixing it as quickly as possible, but we are losing money.”

Ward councillor Dennis Willetts said the theft was a crime against the whole community.

He said: “This completely disrupts people’s lives.

“I expect this to be thoroughly investigated by the police, someone to be charged and given a lengthy sentence.” Resident Samuel Watts, of Colchester Road, said: “Taking these cables to sell for scrap is obviously an easy way to make money, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it happened again.

“Surely BT should try to secure the cables better, or use technology to monitor the lines and catch the people doing this.”

BT spokesman Paul Hayward said engineers had been working around the clock to reconnect the village.

He added: “We work closely with the police and other agencies to combat the problem of cable theft.”