IT Support companies in Berwick were inundated with calls as businesses and hundreds of people were left without their landline phone service for nearly 48 hours after thieves stole 1km (0.6 mile) of copper cabling.
Sussex Police said the 6in to 8in cable was cut and removed from the area near Drusilla’s roundabout in Alfriston in the early hours of Wednesday.
BT said telephone services to up 800 homes and businesses in Berwick were restored on Thursday evening.
The estimated cost of repairing and replacing the cable was £45,000.
Officers believe thieves posing as workers wearing uniforms or high-visibility jackets used a vehicle to pull the cable out of the ground and take it away.
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