HUNDREDS of angry homeowners and businesses have been left without phone and Internet connections after a bungled attempt to steal underground copper wire.

Thieves dressed in reflective jackets coned off a bus lane on Botley Road, Oxford, in the early hours of Tuesday morning and tried to steal 150 metres of underground broadband cable for its expensive copper.

They cut the wrong cables and fled after setting off nearby business alarms.

Their actions managed to damage phone and Internet connections to 2,800 lines in West Oxford, Botley and Cumnor.

Although British Telecom workmen have been on the site day and night since the incident, many of the customers still had no phone or Internet connections last night.

They have been told they may have to wait until Monday to be back online.

Marion Smith, 83, and his wife Emily, live in Botley Road, and cope by diverting home phone calls to a mobile.

He said: “This is a massive inconvenience.

“The workman told us he had never seen anything like it.

“At one stage there were 20 workmen underground. It’s a very big job.”

A furious neighbour, who did not want to give his name, said: I’m really quite angry. It’s outrageous BT can’t get us connected.

“People rely on their Internet and phone connections. In this day and age it shouldn’t take so long.”

Writer Heather Rosser, 64, said: “It’s difficult when you are bereft of Internet connection.

“I feel very sorry for the workmen. They’ve been there every day.”

The thieves cut through an underground cable at one end of Botley Road and then hoped to cut the other end 150 metres further up.

They planned to pull out the three-and-a-half-tonne copper cable and load it on to a truck, but they accidentally cut the wrong cable which set off alarms at companies on the nearby business park.

As a result, 800 connections were lost on one cable and a further 2,000 on the second.

Seb Hickey, duty manager at WS Supplies Army Surplus, said many of the businesses’ card payment systems were down.

He added: “We’ve lost hundreds of pounds every day because customers can’t pay on their card.”

BT spokesman Emma Littlejohn said 2,800 connections had been cut, but only 250 homes and businesses had officially reported a loss of connection.

She said all lines would be restored by Monday and added: “The damage caused was massive. It takes a long time to clear the area and put a new cable in.

“Unfortunately we can’t just flip a switch and everything is back to normal.”

BT would not confirm if it had any locks or other security protecting its cables.

Police spokesman Chris Kearney confirmed that copper wire providing broadband was cut in Botley Road at about 1am on Tuesday.

Officers were only made aware of the theft on Tuesday afternoon, he added.

Anyone with information should call police on 08458 505505 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.