How to report a damaged pole, cable or cabinet

With a leaning pole or a cable hanging across a lane, the first question is safety, not ownership. Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN), one of the companies that runs the local power network, says overhead power lines carry anything from 230 volts up to 400,000 volts, and that you should never touch an overhead line, even if it has come down, because you can't assume it is dead.

So before anything else:

1. Keep well back and keep other people and pets away. Don't touch the cable, the pole or anything the cable is resting on.
2. If anyone is in immediate danger (a line down across a road, touching a vehicle, or people too close), call 999 and ask for the police. SSEN says the police will contact the electricity company responsible for the area. GOV.UK notes that 112 also reaches the emergency services free.
3. If it is, or might be, an electricity line or other electrical hazard, call 105. GOV.UK lists 105 as the free UK-wide power cut helpline and says to report an electrical hazard to your local electricity company or by calling 105.
4. If you are sure it is phone or broadband equipment and it is dangerous, Openreach's advice is to stay at a safe distance and call its damage line straight away (details below).

The markings that tell you whose equipment it is can wait until everyone is safe.

Rather than judging a fallen or sagging cable by how it looks, rely on the ownership markings the network companies publish, and on a safe default when you can't read them.

The clue: ownership markings. Openreach poles carry the owner's name (BT, or GPO or PO on older poles), and other networks' equipment should show a company name too (more on each below).

Our advice: if there's no telecoms marking, or you can't read it safely, treat it as electricity. SSEN says never to touch an overhead line and never to assume it is dead, so treating an unidentified line as live keeps you on the safe side. That means staying away and calling 105, or 999 if anyone is at risk.

Openreach, part of BT Group, says it runs the UK's largest network, and it carries broadband for many providers (our guide to what Openreach is and how it works explains the set-up). Virgin Media runs its own separate network, and independent full fibre networks, often called altnets, such as CityFibre, have their own poles and cabinets too. Openreach's identification guide, quoted below, dates from November 2016 and is aimed at developers, so treat it as a pointer rather than a complete list.

Openreach's “Report unsafe or damaged Openreach equipment” page lists what it wants to hear about: damaged underground or exposed cables, loose cables or cables dangling from poles, green cabinets that are damaged, vandalised or left open, poles leaning at odd angles or fallen, loose, cracked or missing manhole covers, and anything unsafe at a site where it is working.

• Not dangerous, between 7am and 7pm: start a chat on that page. It runs Monday to Sunday, and Openreach asks for non-emergency reports in business hours to come through chat rather than the phone.
• Posing a danger, or after 7pm and before 7am: phone 0800 023 2023. If the equipment poses an immediate danger, Openreach says to stay at a safe distance and call straight away.

Openreach asks for the exact location using the what3words app or, failing that, the nearest postcode. A pole on a country lane may be some way from the nearest postcode, so a three-word address, or a clear description such as “the pole opposite the field gate, about 200 metres past the last house heading north”, saves an engineer time. (That description is an example, not a real location.)

CityFibre is a full fibre network that sells through broadband providers rather than directly to households. It splits its routes three ways:

• Urgent health and safety concerns or incidents: its emergency line, 0800 298 6267. CityFibre says the number is for emergencies only and can't help with other enquiries. Its examples include barriers taken or fallen down, temporary traffic lights not working or damaged, damage (including graffiti) to its poles, cabinets or exchanges, and obstructions to public footways.
• Other damage to your property or to its network: the “Chat with us” icon on its website.
• Construction or build issues and complaints: its digital messaging support, its contact form, or its Customer Service team on 0800 083 6160 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm).

Virgin Media runs its own cable and full fibre network, separate from Openreach. It takes reports about its street equipment through the form on its “Report an issue with our equipment on the street” page. The form asks for your contact details and the road, town and postcode, then the problem: a cabinet or cabinet door, a metal or concrete footway cover, a small plastic termination box, the carriageway or an obstruction. If something more dangerous has happened, Virgin Media says to call 0333 000 5925 and select option 3 (checked 14 October 2026).

Other full fibre networks have their own routes. Openreach's rule works for all of them: contact the company named on the equipment, or your local council if you're unsure. Our guide to what an altnet is explains them, and the broadband providers hub lists the providers selling over them.

On cable theft and malicious damage, Openreach's advice is plain: don't try to stop the people yourself. If a crime is in progress, call 999 as soon as it is safe to do so. If you can do it safely, note vehicle registrations, descriptions of the people involved and the time and location.

• To report anonymously, Openreach points to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
• To tell Openreach directly, it has an online form for cable theft or malicious damage, and says someone from its security team may contact you.
• If the theft has left equipment damaged or dangerous, report that as damage too, through the routes above or through your broadband provider.

Graffiti or vandalism on an Openreach cabinet or pole has its own chat route. On its graffiti and vandalism page, start the chat, choose “Damage, Health & Safety”, then “Graffiti or vandalised Openreach equipment”. It asks for your name, phone number and email, then passes you to a live agent. Openreach says it can arrange for graffiti to be cleaned off or painted over once it's reported.

Be wary of anyone at the door who says they're fixing “damage in the street” and wants to come in: Openreach says genuine engineers show photo ID and are known to your provider. Our guide to broadband scam calls and emails explains how to check.

Openreach says trees or branches hitting its cables can cause outages, and asks for that damage to be reported to it online. In a flood, GOV.UK says not to walk, cycle or drive through the water, which may hide broken drain and manhole covers. For damage to the line or equipment at your own home, our guide to storm or flood damage to your broadband covers who repairs which part and what to do about compensation.

Reporting a damaged pole or cabinet to the network does not report your own fault. Openreach says that if your broadband or phone isn't working because of the damage, you should contact your broadband provider, which raises the repair with Openreach. Its graffiti and vandalism page is blunter: the damage team can't help with a fault or slow speeds, and can't transfer you to a team that can. CityFibre says the same for its network: it doesn't sell to households, so faults go to your provider, which contacts CityFibre if needed.

If your provider is signed up to Ofcom's automatic compensation scheme, compensation for a slow repair is counted from the date you log the fault with your provider, so make that call even if the network already knows about the damage. Our guide on how to report a broadband fault covers what to have ready; if you're not sure the street damage is the cause, start with what to check when your broadband is down.

If the damage is to a power line, remember that GOV.UK says digital landlines need mains power, so a router and a digital home phone won't work in a power cut without battery back-up. Keep a charged mobile handy for 999 and 105, and if someone at home depends on the landline, ask your provider about back-up.

If Openreach damaged your home or land while installing or working on its equipment, its “Report damage to property caused by Openreach” page sends you to its website chat (choose “Damage, Health & Safety”, then “Damage to my property”) to arrange a repair. Claims for damage caused by an Openreach vehicle, and other property damage claims, go by email to the addresses on that page.

If broadband builders have dug up your street, or left a pavement or verge in poor shape, our guide to fibre street works and your rights covers what they have to do and where to report it.

Planning to dig in your own garden or drive? Check where buried cables run before you start: our guide to your broadband line during renovation covers how to do that and how to get a line moved or protected.

Whoever you report to, gather these from a safe distance:

• Exact location: a what3words address, the nearest postcode, or both, plus a landmark.
• What the equipment is: pole, overhead cable, cabinet, manhole or footway cover, or a box on a wall.
• Any markings you could read safely: owner name, a DP number on a pole, or the name on a cabinet or cover.
• What's wrong: leaning, fallen, cable low or on the ground, door open, cover missing, exposed cable, graffiti.
• Who is at risk: is it blocking a footway or road, near a school, or across a driveway?
• When you noticed it and whether it has got worse.
• Whether services are down: if your own broadband or phone has stopped, say so, then report it to your provider too.
• Your name, phone number and email: Openreach's graffiti chat and Virgin Media's form both ask for them.

Openreach says photos or a precise location help it respond faster. Take any photo from a safe spot; never get closer to a damaged line or an open cabinet to take one.

The name on a nearby cabinet or pole can give you a clue about which networks have built in your area, though it doesn't confirm which ones can connect your address. Our guide to which network your broadband is on explains why that matters for repairs and switching.

Our fibre broadband deals and deals by area pages show what's on offer. We compare deals through a partner tool; we can't take damage or fault reports, and we don't switch you ourselves. To see the packages available at your address, compare deals at your postcode.