Thieves steal cable from under road

Metal from cables can be sold for scrap for several pounds per kilogram

Audacious thieves have cut and stolen a "large amount" of cable buried under a road in Worcestershire.

Officers say the culprits removed a manhole cover on Stourbridge Road in Catshill near Bromsgrove to access and cut the high-value wires on 4 December.

Late the following night, the same stretch of cable was cut further along the Road.

It was then attached to a vehicle and dragged out of the ground before being cut up and taken away, according to the West Mercia force.

The cables were stolen from under a road in Worcestershire

PC Paul Coles said: "There are two separate occasions when potential witnesses could have been passing through."

"We are keen to speak to anyone who saw anything suspicious."

A sharp rise in metal thefts over a decade ago was curbed by the licensing of scrap dealers and restrictions on untraceable cash transactions.

However, cases remain, with some costing businesses and individuals hundreds of thousands of pounds.