Wednesbury business ransacked and phone lines cut in burglary

Manufacturing company Clevedon Fasteners Ltd, based at Old Park Industrial Estate, was ransacked after phone lines on the site were cut.

Other firms have lost days of trade after being left with no access to telephones or the internet after previous attacks on the lines.

Raiders at Clevedon Fasteners stole van keys and trashed an office, and now West Midlands Police is appealing for information.

Neil Webster, operations manager at the firm, said businesses on the site had been experiencing faults with telephone lines.

He said: "They cut the main telegraph line and then raided us. It's the first time we have come across it as we have only been here five weeks.

"We had been experiencing faults with the line but we didn't expect anything like this.

"I got a phone call in the evening off our security company who alerted us to what had happened. It left us without internet and telephone too.

"They ransacked my desk and found the key to the van but the odd thing was nothing was stolen.

"They ripped the dash board off the transit van and police think they were after the tracking system. "

Another company affected by the phone lines being cut was BSJ Fixings, who have been based at the estate since 1999.

Pally Sagoo, a director at the firm, revealed it was not the first time businesses on the estate had suffered, claiming the phone lines had been cut with a hacksaw. He said: "This has happened before and they come and cut the phone lines which disconnects our internet and other appliances.

"We feel it must be the same sort of people because they know what wires to cut and how the system works.

"They cut them on the ground with a hacksaw and then it leaves the businesses without phones or internet all day.

"It just seems like nothing can be done and its absolutely frustrating."

A West Midlands Police spokesperson said: "Police responded to reports of a break-in at a factory in Sandwell.

"Clevedon Fasteners Ltd on Old Park Road in Wednesbury was broken into.

"Four men forced entry to the building and stole a set of van keys; the van itself was not stolen. A fire door was damaged during the incident.

"The investigation is on-going, anyone with information is asked to contact police on 101." Around 10 businesses trade from the estate, which has industrial units in three blocks.

A spokesperson for Openreach – BT's local network business – which installs and maintain the local network on behalf of all communications providers, confirmed there had been a number of attacks on its network in this area.