Exposed BT cable which needs some protection

[Rollerball]

A few days ago I lost my phone line and internet connection - this was caused by my local council's hedge/verge trimming contractors accidentally cutting my phone cable where it exits the ground and runs up the side of the telegraph pole. It looks like the 1cm black cable (carrying about half a dozen pairs, all unused except for mine) was never properly protected and this year it was unlucky enough to be badly damaged by a strimmer.

It's now been repaired by Openreach but about six inches of black cable are still "exposed" at the very base of the pole, so leaving it susceptible to more damage next time the cutters do their work.

As Openreach have repaired the break I guess they think it's not a problem, but I would still like to avoid having my phone line accidentally cut again!

Obviously I cannot touch anything on the pole as it would be classed as "tampering" by BT (I did initially think of nailing a small piece of wood or metal over the area where the exposed black wire lays, but I guess that hammering a couple of nails into a wooden pole would also be classed as tampering).

So what can I do to protect my six inches of exposed cable?

Perhaps strap something around the base of the pole?

Maybe hammer a small piece of wood into the ground (not to pierce the cable!) but enough to cover the cable? That way I wouldn't be touching any BT equipment.

Or maybe even wrap some kind of strong insulation around the exposed cable?

The pole is at the edge of a hedge that borders a field so the ground at the base is simply soil and undergrowth - no concrete, etc.

 

[phatboy]

Get a thick piece of plastic, bend it around the cable and pole and cable tie?

 

[OwainDIYer]

Use this (or a metal equivalent)
https://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/CG192BK.html
and secure it with
https://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/FXBAND12B.html

 

[Rollerball]

Thanks for the suggestions.

Would applying either of those be regarded as "tampering" by BT? The pole is opposite some houses so people would know it was me who did the work.

 

[Belboz]

The six inches of cable exposed - is it hanging loose or tacked to the pole?

 

[Rollerball]

The exposed cable isn't tacked to the pole, it's just laying flat and tight (and semi vertical) against the pole at the very bottom. It's kind of being "held" in position due to it disappearing into the soil at the very bottom, while at the top of this short segment is a cylindrical large black plastic case which is watertight and protecting the spliced together ends of the cables. This black plastic case is screwed to the pole.

 

[Belboz]

Is there any room behind the cable (even a few mm)??

Reason I ask is, if so, why not use a short length of white waste pipe (or similar) cut with a V end and cut down it's length. Using the small opening, slip the pipe over the cable and push it into the ground (the V shape should allow it to go into the soil more easily) That way you are not actually fixing anything to the pole or to the cable but the white pipe should enable it to be seen by future cutters and should last a fair bit.

Only an idea though...

 

[Rollerball]

I'm sure that I could shift the cable forward by a couple of mm.

I do in fact have some spare white plastic water pipe which might be suitable (I could use my Dremel to cut down its length). Naturally I would need to be careful pushing that into the ground to ensure that I don't damage the cable.

I could also chuck a little soil over the pipe just to hide my handiwork a little.

 

[Belboz]

Yep - ideally you want the V shape to the front (away from the cable near the pole) Won't need to go far into the ground - just enough to keep it upright (albeit the cable pushing against the internal rear of the pipe will help this) Good idea to check it doesn't snag the cable.

The thinner the wall the better for the pipe (overflow would be good) but whatever you have to hand. Remember that the thicker the pipe wall the more force required to open the gap.

I wouldn't imagine by doing this that you will have tampered with anything owned by someone else (e.g. BT) and it ought to give you a better chance of that section of cable being seen by the next bunch of numpties coming to cut the verges!

 

[Rollerball]

This will be typical plastic plumbing pipe as used to take water to a tap, etc.

Thanks, if you (and everyone else) is sure I won't be accused of tampering I'll give it a go.

 

[Belboz]

You're not doing any damage, you're not tampering with the equipment nor rendering anything less useable so I don't see any issue. At the end of the day, BT ought to have done something about it at the time (e.g. capped the cable off from ground level or, at the least, wrapped the base of the cable in high-vis tape) They won't give a t*ss.

 

[Rollerball]

Thanks.