From correspondents in Strasbourg
September 15, 2006 05:11am
Article from: Reuters
RESIDENTS of two villages in eastern France could make no phone calls today after 550 metres of copper cables were stolen, a day after copper thieves disrupted train traffic in the west.
Theft of the metal has become increasingly common in France as thieves try to cash in on soaring copper prices, which have more than doubled in the past year.
The thieves took more than a tonne of copper cables left lying on the ground awaiting use in repairs, operator France Telecom said, adding they had caused tens of thousands of euro's damage.
Phone services in the Oltingue and Wolschwiller villages should be restored by tomorrow, the operator said.
Yesterday criminals stole copper cables used for railway signalling, disrupting high-speed train services between the south-western city of Bordeaux and Paris.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,20415922-1702,00.html
