Thieves have knocked out phone and internet connections in parts of Gravesend.

People living in the Riverview area have been without a service since Wednesday after undergound cables were stolen.

BT said it had around 160 different incidents to clear and its engineers were working nearby to install new cables.

A spokesman added: "We would appeal to local residents to be vigilant and report any suspicious behaviour in or around street cabinets or manhole covers immediately.

"Network security is of paramount importance to us and we are constantly reviewing our processes to make sure our infrastructure protection is robust."

The problem of cable thefts has become so bad nationally that BT has set up a national task force to attend crime scenes to try and speak to scrap metal dealers to try to combat the problem.

More than 400 people were arrested last year for stealing form the BT network.