An angry Bradford householder has condemned a phone company's policy of charging a £70 reconnection fee when wires are cut by burglars.

Jacqui Roebuck, 59, persuaded BT to waive the payment after she complained it was unfair.

But she is furious that the company tried to impose the charge in the first place.

And she fears that if it had been one of her many elderly neighbours who had been burgled, they would have stumped up the cash because they were unlikely to have kicked up a fuss.

Burglars broke into Mrs Roebuck's rented bungalow in Clayton through the glass front door after she had gone to sleep.

The culprits had snipped the telephone wire outside her home before breaking in and stealing her handbag, which contained only a few pounds in cash plus credit cards and her driving licence.

Mother-of-three Mrs Roebuck, who works in a fish and chip shop, said: "It's disgusting. I really think BT needs to be shown up over this.

"The phone problem was solved for me, which is fine, but it was only because I raised such a stink. I got my son to ring up and I told them there was no way I was paying £70. I was going to get a mobile instead.

"But a lot of the other ladies who live near me would just have paid. They can't look after themselves like me.

"It's evil what these kids did. But if I'd had a choice and somebody had to be burgled like this, then I'd have said 'Let it be me' because I can cope with it."

BT's media relations manager Anne Crowther said in cases where phone wires had been cut in a burglary customers would normally have to pay a fee of £59.58 plus VAT, amounting to about £70.

"It's not BT's fault that Mrs Roebuck was burgled. The policy is that it is chargeable full stop. Obviously, we assume that people will recover that money on their own household insurance policies," she said.

"But clearly we are not heartless and there are obviously circumstances where, as a gesture of goodwill, we might waive the charge. In this case, somebody has decided to waive the charge in view of the circumstances. We take each individual case on its merits."

Mrs Roebuck was also upset to learn that the glass in her front door was not the toughened type which is currently recommended.

Queensbury-based Patchett Homes, which manages the bungalows, has agreed to replace it with a modern door, free of charge.

But Mrs Roebuck said she was worried that other residents, many of whom are in their 80s, were vulnerable to similar break-ins. She added that she would prefer to have a solid wooden front door but she would be charged £80 to have one fitted.

Nick Patchett, a director of Patchett Homes, said he was sympathetic to her plight and the company would look at the possibility of installing toughened glass in all front doors.

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