New Forest man arrested over possible cable theft in Hythe

A New Forest man purporting to be carrying out ‘scheduled’ maintenance works on behalf of telecoms companies BT and Virgin Media has been arrested on suspicion of theft.

BT Open Reach’s security team reported a ‘possible cable theft’ at around 2am this morning (Monday 12 August) following an activation of an alarm at Butts Bridge on Hill Road in Hythe.

Officers found 100m of cable on a nearby path which had been seemingly pulled from within a manhole cover. The cable was seen to be leading to a car parked a short distance up the road.

Officers spoke to a man who said he was carrying out sub-contracting works in the area but was awaiting support from colleagues.

Police say further enquiries later showed that neither BT or Virgin had any scheduled works due to take place in the local area at that time.

A 33-year-old man from Ashurst was arrested on suspicion of theft and his vehicle seized while the incident is investigated.

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