Halstead man jailed following conviction for theft of more than £3,600 worth of BT cables

A Halstead man, who was caught stealing thousands of pounds worth of telecommunications cable, has been jailed for more than a year-and-a-half.

Donald Green, 50, of White Horse Avenue, parked his white Ford Transit van on a grass verge on the A11 near Newmarket on Sunday, October 27, at approximately 10pm, when he was spotted by an officer from Suffolk’s Road Policing Unit.

The officer illuminated the car’s blue lights to alert other road users of the van, but Green began to drive away.

Subsequently, the officer followed the van for a short period along the A11 and on to the A1304, before pulling him over and arresting him, after it was discovered he was disqualified from driving.

Following a check of the vehicle’s details, it then became apparent it was being driven on false number plates.

A search of the area where the van had originally been parked revealed more than £3,600 worth of BT cables, which had been hidden behind a hedge, with more found in the back of Green’s van.

Green was jailed for 19 months at Cambridge Crown Court last week after pleading guilty to charges of theft, driving while disqualified and driving without insurance.

Detective Constable Tom Adams, from Cambridgeshire Police, said: “Green was caught red-handed stealing thousands of pounds worth of telecommunications cable, which can cause misery for small villages.

“His sentence reflects how seriously the courts take offending of this nature.”