Suspected underground cable thief emerges from manhole in busy city centre
- Posted on January 22, 2026
- By The Independent
- 2 Views
Suspected underground cable thief emerges from manhole in busy city centre

A suspected underground cable thief emerged from a manhole after being caught by police officers in Birmingham. Video shared by West Midlands Police on Wednesday (21 January) shows officers and a police dog approaching the covering after members of the public flagged them down and reported a potential cable theft. After arresting two suspects on suspicion of theft, and a van containing the cables was recovered, officers became aware that a third suspect was still underground. They can be heard telling the suspect to “come out now, or the dog’s going down”. The suspect then climbs up a ladder before emerging at street level, where he was arrested. Three men, aged 48, 45 and 37, remained in custody as of Wednesday.