Two people, including a 15-year-old, have been charged with 40 offences following roadside cabinet raids last year that left customers without broadband in Kent, UK.

Kent Online reports that batteries worth more than £18,000 ($24,100) were stolen from telecoms sites across Kent and parts of the South East last year.

The cabinets were targeted between September 24 and October 4 of last year, across Canterbury, Herne Bay, West Malling, Eynsford in Dartford, and Claygate in Surrey.

Police this week have charged the two people, 38-year-old Levi Backett, and a 15-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons. Both appeared in court last Friday (December 12) at Medway Magistrates’ Court.

Following the thefts, an investigation was launched by Kent's police force, leading to arrests being made in the Hemsptead area of Gillingham on October 7, 2024.

ISP Review has separately reported that the investigation led to the recovery of more than 100 batteries, plus a lot of cables, the vehicle itself, a trailer, a vehicle engine, and several heavy power tools.

The cabinets house network equipment for telcos and mobile network operators, including routers, cabling, switches, servers, and more.

Vandals target telecom cabinets to steal the equipment inside for monetary value.

Earlier this year in Nottinghamshire, Virgin Media had to carry out repairs on telecommunications cabinets following a spate of metal thefts of the cabinet covers.