More than 1,000 homes were left without a phone line after brazen thieves tried to steal copper wires.

Huge swathes of Dartford’s villages were disconnected for several days while engineers replaced nearly two miles of cables.

It’s the second time in a year that such audacious theft attempts have affected vast areas of the borough.

In July last year a reckless attempt to steal copper cabling from an EDF plant at Dartford Creek ended with about 100,000 homes in Dartford, Crayford, Bexleyheath, Erith and Orpington without power.

This time, an estimated 1,400 households in Hawley, Sutton-at-Hone, Horton Kirby and South Darenth saw their phone and internet access go down last Wednesday evening.

A gang had lifted manhole covers along the A225 Dartford Road to cut six copper cables in five places between Sutton-at-Hone and Farningham.

Anyone with any information is asked to phone Kent Police on 01474 366 180.

For the full story see this week's Dartford Messenger, out Thursday.