A VILLAGE has been cut off from landline phones and the internet after thieves stole 1,200 metres of cable in a night-time raid.

Hundreds of Chalgrove residents woke up to silent phone lines after the crooks struck in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Vijay Patel, of Premier News, in High Street, said: “The whole area is without telephone or internet.

“All the businesses are suffering. And BT cannot put it back until next Tuesday.

“Everyone is paralysed without the telephone. It is absolute chaos.”

The criminals attacked three of BT’s underground copper cables in the Watlington Road between Chalgrove and Stadhampton.

Clare Hulbert, 31, of Brookside Estate, said: “Nobody seems to know what has happened and when it is going to be back. It is a nightmare.”

It is the latest in a line of thefts by gangs eager to cash in the rising cost of scrap metals. Copper can fetch £6 a kilo.

Chalgrove Parish Council chairman Ann Pritchard said: “It has been quite a traumatic time for everyone in the village.

“I have met a lot of the elderly people who cannot get online or use their phones to get in contact with friends or helpers.

“It is going to put a lot of people out.

“It makes people realise how much they depend on their telephones and internet.”

She said the offenders were selfish, adding: “It is thoughtless. I do not think they realise how it affects other people. They might think it is a petty crime but it will affect others quite seriously.”

BT spokesman Paul Hayward could not say when the village’s services would return.

He said: “Engineers have been on site and are working as quickly as possible to clear the duct space and to prepare to bring in replacement cabling and then to reconnect lines on to the new cable.

“We have had around 170 reported faults but we expect this number to rise.

“It is too early to be specific on repair times. We will know more once we have carried out a full assessment of the route to see if further excavations are required to clear blockages in the cable run.

“We would appeal to local residents to be vigilant and report any suspicious behaviour in or around street cabinets or manhole covers immediately.”

More than 400 people have been arrested for stealing from BT in the last year and the company has now set up a taskforce that works with police and scrap metal dealers to tackle the problem.

Thames Valley Police spokesman Rebecca Webber said: “The matter has been assigned to an officer who has been liaising with BT and the investigation is on-going.”