ELDERLY residents were left without any means of communication after thieves cut through telephone cables as they tried to steal copper wire.

Residents of the Sir William Turner Almshouses were potentially left stranded, when their emergency warden service was disconnected by the thieves at about 11pm on Thursday.

The village of Kirkleatham, near Redcar, was also left isolated when the cabling was cut, approximately 700 metres apart.

BT engineers were on the site of the problem first thing Friday morning, to get the emergency service up and running again. However, the damage was so severe some villagers will be without a telephone until tomorrow.

Peter Sotheran, chairman of the trustees who are responsible for the 17th Century almshouses, said: "We are really grateful that BT reacted so quickly, and prioritised the problem, when we pointed out that there were some very vulnerable and elderly people affected.

"Many of the residents didn't realise until the morning, but it could have had serious repercussions if any had needed to call out a warden during the night. As it was, they were just facing problems organising their doctor appointments, and ensuring they had sufficient prescriptions."

The alarm was raised when Mr Sotheran was told there was a problem with the Almhouses' warden service, when he was contacted on his mobile phone.

He said: "These thieves clearly tried to steal the cable, but didn't stop to think about the effect it would have on people. All the phones at the Almhouses and 300 villagers were affected.

"I'm full of praise for BT - they worked tirelessly to get the system up and running again. There are still some phones not working but, hopefully, that will be put right by tomorrow."

Last year, the historic almshouses had to close its chapel doors to drop-in visitors after a catalogue of misbehaviour by guests.

No one was available from BT last night to comment on the scale of the problem that engineers faced.

A Cleveland Police spokesman said: "We were alerted to the problem on Friday afternoon, and inquiries are continuing. I would appeal for anyone with information to get in contact with the police."

Anyone with information can call Cleveland Police on 01642-326326.