UK Town Loses Internet After Rats Bite Broadband Cables

Rats gnawed broadband cables in a town in the United Kingdom, resulting in internet loss for several days. One such town is Tring, located in Hertfordshire County, England, which first experienced the disruption last Saturday, July 29.

The rare incident reportedly caused frustration to some residents even though power has been restored for the majority of customers.

Hertfordshire Internet Loss

(Photo : Image by Christine McCall from Pixabay)
A stock photo of a roof rat.

Hundreds of residents in Tring were left without internet connection for almost four days after the Hertfordshire rats targeted the cables for reasons unknown. Engineers worked "around the clock" to restore the town's network, the Independent U.K. reported on Friday, August 4.

The repair required re-routing 650 meters of multiple cables to avoid disturbing the nest. The damage to the broadband wires was surprising since such penetration usually needed drilling, according to the report. It is still unclear how many rats exactly feasted on the cables. The internet service company in the town addressed the matter on social media.

Other reports, including the Daily Mail U.K., indicate thousands of Hertfordshire residents were left without power.

Also Read: Hero Rats Project: UK Researchers Train Rats with Backpacks to Sneak Into Earthquake Debris During Natural Calamities

Hertfordshire Rats

In a tweet on X, previously called Twitter, the utility provider Openreach on Wednesday, August 2, announced the internet network near Tring, Hertfordshire, was fixed. In addition, cables incurred severe damage by a "hungry assailant," as the company described as a rodent or small mammal.

Our network near #Tring, Herts, has been fixed after some severe damage by a hungry assailant🐀

A rodent or small mammal had managed to gnaw through our cables – a feat that typically needs a drill – leaving many customers in the area without broadband ⚠️#WeAreOpenreach pic.twitter.com/O8PDK4tx2t
— Openreach (@WeAreOpenreach) August 2, 2023

In the post, the attached photos show that a rat managed to gnaw a portion of the cable. The service provider was able to link the damage to the animal since the incident was also recorded, as shown in the tweet.

As mentioned earlier, residents affected by the internet outage showed frustration to the company. In response, an Openreach spokesperson stated the repair was temporarily hampered because access in one of the underground chambers were under a private property, as cited by the BBC.

Tring has a population of 11,961, based on a census as of March 2021, according to the website City Population.

Related Incidents

While the incident in the U.K. town has been considered rare, it is not surprising at all as rats and other pest animals are known for damaging different types of cables.

A similar case has been reported in October 2021, wherein around 1,800 homes in Devon's Torridge area experienced an internet outage, a week after a 22-hour disruption also occurred.

In 2017, cable-gnawing rodents also caused "extensive damage" in South London as they churned through fiber cables, leaving customers without internet.

Just like some other animals, rats chew on wires since they view them as attractive and are typically easy to access. The fact that rodents can cause damage is possible since they can also chew through wood, plastic, and even concrete, according to the website AAAnimal Control.

Aside from mice, raccoons, squirrels, moles, and other animals are known for chewing and gnawing cable or electrical wires, which is deemed to have no nutritional value.