Skip to content

Gang who stole Openreach cables 'cost BT £1m'

Essex Police Mugshots of Billy Lee, who has green eyes, stubbly moustache and dark brown hair tendrils on his forehead; Levi Lee, who has blue eyes, a close cropped bead and short back and sides, with long on top dark hair; and Ashley Byford who has gingery-brown hair, a long moustache and patchy beardEssex Police
Billy Lee, Levi Lee and Ashley Byford (pictured left to right) accessed manhole covers across four counties

A gang who stole BT Openreach network cables, which cost the company "about £1m" to replace, have been jailed.

Police said Billy Lee Junior, Levi Lee, Samuel Sheady-Jones and Ashley Byford travelled in 4x4s with false registration plates and accessed manhole covers across Essex, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Wrexham, Wales, in 2022.

They cut the cables, which ran for several miles underground, and winched them out causing thousands of BT customers to lose service.

The men pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal and were sentenced at Chelmsford Crown Court on Friday.

Essex Police Officer in protective clothing and helmet straddles a wall after climbing a silver ladder. Behind them are three other officers, with their back to the camera, looking onEssex Police
Officers scaled a wall to conduct their warrant

Police found a 4x4 vehicle and a cable in a field in Earith, Cambridgeshire, in 2022.

It was forensically tested and linked to Lee. In September 2022, officers executed a warrant at his home.

Both Junior and Lee were arrested, and within Lee’s property, officers found a bag containing four large bundles of cash totalling £40,000.

Another £10,000 in cash was found in the same caravan, while £4,000 was located in a box in nearby dog kennels.

Officers also found a winch and wire cutters, a Mitsubishi Shogun 4x4 and a Makita drill. Forensic examination of the drill handle provided a DNA match to Byford, who was subsequently arrested in Chelmsford.

"The investigation team was able to link the group to 31 offences over a nine-month period," a spokesman for the force said.

Essex Police Shot from behind of one of the gang members being led away, with a police officer at either side. The back of his head is blurred out and he is wearing a black fleece, shorts, ankle socks and slider. The officers wear protective raid uniform. They walk along a pebbled path with a caravan and car partially seen in the background.Essex Police
Police found thousands of pounds in cash at a caravan site

The group was due to stand trial in September but instead entered guilty pleas and all admitted conspiracy to steal.

  • Junior, 24, of Chivers Road, Stondon Massey, Essex, also admitted possessing criminal property and was sentenced to a total of four years and eight months
  • Lee, 22, also of Chivers Road, was sentenced to a total of four years and five months in prison
  • Sheady-Jones, 23, of Cefn Mawr, Wrexham, was sentenced to three years and seven months in prison
  • Byford, 26, of Thames Avenue, Chelmsford, was sentenced to 16 months in prison

'Monitored 24-7'

Det Insp Frazer Low said the group caused "widespread disruption".

BT said replacement copper cables, labour, engineering and new alarms cost the business about £1m.

Emma Sandison, Openreach security director, said repair work can take weeks and "pulls our engineers away from other work".

She added: "Our dedicated security team investigates all attacks and our network is alarmed and monitored 24-7 by our control centre."

Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.

Related internet links