Water firm in cable cutting error

Thames Water has admitted accidentally damaging cables which cut off traffic lights and left thousands of people without phone or internet services.

The firm's tunnelling machine hit BT cables 10m (33ft) underground in Ilford, east London, on 4 April.

Traffic lights in central London were cut off, causing long queues, and 50,000 addresses in east London were left without phone or internet access.

BT said the majority of its customers were reconnected within two days.

A Thames Water spokesman said: "While undertaking tunnelling works at a depth of 10m in the east London area an uncharted obstruction was hit by our tunnelling machine.

"It was later discovered this was a BT asset and customers had been affected."

The spokesman said it was "too early to say" whether Thames Water would be fined as a result of the accident.