‘Communities across the UK are paying the price for this criminal behaviour': Openreach teams up with metal recycling giant to tackle UK's £4bn a decade cable theft problem

• Cable theft costs the UK £500 million yearly, and it continues to grow
• Over 100,000 customers have been impacted and 1.2 million hours lost since April 2024
• Openreach partners with EMR and Crimestoppers, deploys DNA tracers and grid alarms

According to new information from Openreach, metal theft has cost the UK economy an estimated £4.3 billion since 2013, and it’s now estimated to sit at £500 million per year as the problem continues to escalate.

This comes as the cost of copper continues to rise, hitting all-time highs in early 2026 and expected to rise even further given its status as a ‘critical material’ for sustainable, low-carbon infrastructure and technology.

Openreach warns that criminals have ripped out 153km of copper cable from its network since April 2024 alone – the same distance as London to Bristol.

Inconvenience and cost aside, Openreach worries that cable theft has a major impact on customers across the UK, with more than 100,000 citizens having lost access to landlines, broadband or both since April 2024. With remote working now normalized and ecommerce accounting for a major portion of Internet traffic, the BT-owned network infrastructure company stressed the effects can be much broader.

With many cables running through rural areas, the report also details how farmers’ fields and crops can be damaged, pushing the effects down the chain to food supply.

Two incidents have already occurred recently, in May 2026, when one gang cut connectivity for around 5,000 residents near Birmingham and another group used three vehicles to pull cables out of rural field in Wateringbury, Kent. Another incident earlier in January left 2,500 Moulton Chapel, Lincolnshire residents without connection.

“Cable theft causes serious damage, unacceptable disruption to communities and can put vulnerable people at risk,” Openreach Director of Resilience and Integrity Andy Shepherd said.

The company even noted that it’s had to divert 1.2 million working hours to repairing theft-related damage since April 2024, likely slowing down network improvements including full fiber rollout.

Working with partners to stamp out cable theft

To tackle the issue, Openreach has partnered with European Metal Recycling (EMR), a major metal recycler in the UK, to block stolen telecom assets from being exchanged for cash at its sites. EMR will operate a zero-tolerance policy, refusing any scrap metal or cable suspected of being criminally sourced.

“By working together, we can help protect critical infrastructure, support local communities and ensure valuable resources are recycled responsibly,” EMR Commercial Director Bruce Miller added.

Cables are also set to be treated with synthetic, invisible DNA tracers that transfer onto the skin, clothing and tools of thieves. Armed with this information, police and scrap dealers can use UV light to not only identify the criminal, but even trace the location of the cable theft.

Independent charity Crimestoppers is also set to help Openreach, urging the public to report suspicious activity around telecoms infrastructure by calling 0800 555 111 or submitting a log online. To provide some guidance, examples cited by Openreach include unmarked vehicles lifting manhole covers and working in fields late at night.

Additionally, localized grid alarms will alert Openreach’s centralized security center as soon as interference is detected, allowing police and rapid-response security teams to be dispatched.

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