A MAN who admitted stealing stealing thousands of pounds of telecommunications cable has been jailed.

Donald Green, 50, was spotted carrying out the theft by a police officer.

Green, of White Horse Avenue, Halstead, had parked his Ford Transit van on a grass verge along the A11 near Newmarket at about 10pm on October 27.

A police officer from Suffolk’s Road Policing Unit turned on their blue lights, but Green began to drive away.

The officer followed Green for a short while onto the A1304 before pulling him over and arresting him after it was discovered he was disqualified.

Following a check of the vehicle’s details it became apparent it was being driven on false number plates.

A search of the area where the van had originally been parked revealed more than £3,600 worth of BT cables hidden behind a hedge, with more found in the back of Green’s van.

Green was jailed for 19 months at Cambridge Crown Court after admitting theft, driving while disqualified and driving without insurance.

DC Tom Adams said: “Green was caught red-handed stealing thousands of pounds worth of telecommunications cable, which can cause misery for small villages.

“His sentence reflects how seriously the courts take offending of this nature.”