RESIDENTS in Kew were left scratching their heads after a mix-up left them with their neighbours' phone numbers.

They only realised the problem when friends and family dialled their number, only to find someone else on the other end of the line. The problems started last week when, overnight on March 24, thieves stole copper cabling between Lion Gate and Kew Road. They dug underground to pinch the cables, which can fetch thousands of pounds in scrap.

Hundreds of nearby residents were left without telephone and internet services, but things were looking up when, at the beginning of this week, engineers finished reconnecting customers.

But things were not as they seemed. Maggie Phillips, of Kingston, said she tried to phone her sister. "She's on holiday and I wanted to leave a message for when they get back, so I rang, expecting to get through to the answering machine and a man answered.

"I didn't know what was going on – I thought, a burglar wouldn't answer a phone, would he? But he said it had been happening to a few people."

Local MP Susan Kramer said she had met people who had been effected while out canvassing with Richmond Council leader Serge Lourie, iin Gloucester Court, ahead of the election. "People seem to be seeing the funny side of things, but it must be awfully frustrating, especially as around there mobile reception can be particularly bad and people have been having to go to the end of their gardens to make calls.

"I spoke to one lady who works for a charity and she said people had been asking her why she hadn't replied to messages – she was very confused, and that's when when she first began to realise what had happened. I've been speaking to BT, trying to get the matter settled."

A spokeswoman for British Telecom said it was thought the problem had effected about 10-15 phone lines in the area. "The engineers have a map of lines, and when there's a problem, people can be connected to different lines. We're looking into this and hope the handful of people effected will be sorted out very soon. It's a very old system and some people have been on it for 20 years.

"We understand how frustrating it is for them. Some might be worried that they will be charged for calls they've not made and we can guarantee that will not happen. It's important that any BT customers experiencing problems call us on 150, and if anyone saw anything suspicious on the night of the 24th, please contact the police."