Teddington cable thieves locked up

Two men have been jailed after stealing copper cabling in Teddington, on Langham Road. 

30-year-old Daryl Carslake and 28-year-old Gavin Marriott posed as workmen when working in the road.  

Between them they managed to extract 425 metres of cable from the ground last year. 

They also targetted areas in Sussex.  

As a result of their crimes, householders often saw a loss of telephone and broadband lines in surrounding areas. 

Whilst in court they pleaded guilty to two counts of theft of cabling belonging to British Telecom.

Both were sentenced to two years for each count of theft, to run concurrently - reduced to 16 months for each count, to run concurrently, in recognition of their early guilty pleas.

On 9 May, the men targeted a manhole in Langham Road, Teddington, extracting 425 metres of cable.

The pair made off swiftly with their haul after they were challenged by a passing council permit officer.

The permit officer was able to take photographs of Carslake and Marriott, and noted the van registration number which would later be used to link the pair to a cable theft later on in the summer.

Detective Chief Inspector Lee Hill of the London Crime Squad said: "Metal theft impacts upon the lives of tens of thousands of Londoners every year with telecommunication being cut off, and trains and

transport disrupted."

Simon Davies, BT General Manager for cable theft said: "BT's metal theft task force helped The Met and Surrey police forces to connect the incidents together which led to the criminal activities of these individuals being brought to an end."