Hundred of homes and businesses could be left waiting until the end of the month for their internet and phone lines to be fixed after thieves stole cable.

More than a kilometre of copper cabling was stolen by thieves from BT’s Steeple Aston exchange on Friday.

About 300 homes in Middle Barton and Tackley have been without services since then.

Last night BT spokesman Anna Steven said three sections of cable, each 350 metres long, were taken.

She said work to fix the problem would begin today.

She added: “We currently have about 300 fault reports.

“Once the main cables are in, they will then have to connect up each and every line manually.

“This is painstaking work which may take some time, as each line must be reconnected individually.

“We would urge anyone affected to contact their service provider who will be able to help with practical measures, such as putting line diverts in place, while the permanent repairs are carried out. We would also ask anyone who noticed anything suspicious to pass information to the police.”

Brendan Spillane, of Middle Barton, said almost every home and the pub in the village was offline. He said: “I have been speaking to Plusnet (BT’s broadband partner) who have told me it could take until the end of the month to fix.”