Deliberate cut to telephone cable

Press, 10 March 1987, Page 5

Deliberate cut to telephone cable

PA Dunedin The police in Dunedin are investigating a deliberate cut to a cable in Halfway Bush which left 3000 subscribers without telephone connections. A further 8000 subscribers were limited to calls within their own exchange group as a result of the cut. Suburbs affected by the cut were Helensburgh, Maori Hill, Kaikorai, Half-. way Bush and Brockville. Emergency lines were restored to Brockville subscribers by late yesterday morning. The acting district engineer at the Dunedin Post Office, Mr Graeme Berry, said it would be late tomorrow or Thursday before service was restored to normal. Restoration meant the physical wiring together or jointing of 15,000 to 20,000 wires by Post Office staff. The cable was severed about 2 a.m. under a manhole cover about 300 metres outside the Halfway Bush telephone exchange. Detective Senior-Ser-geant Chris Kelley said the police were following several lines of inquiry. As yet they had no suspects, but they were satisfied the cable had been cut deliberately. The police, St John Ambulance and the Fire Service set up points where people could make emergency calls using radiotelephones. The police said these links were for "life and death” calls 0n1y.,, /