Two men will face trial after an investigation into cable thefts in Essex, Cambridgeshire and Suffolk.

Essex Police executed a warrant in Stondon Massey, near Brentwood, on Tuesday, September 27 amid an investigation into cable thefts across the three counties.

Two people were charged and brought before Colchester Magistrates' Court yesterday (Wednesday, September 28), where magistrates committed the case to trial at Chelmsford Crown Court.

Levi Lee, aged 20, and Billy Lee, aged 22, both of of Chivers Road in Stondon Massey, face charges of conspiring with each other - and a third person - to steal cable and plant machinery belonging to BT and others to a value unknown in the Braintree district between October 18, 2021 and July 28, 2022.

Billy Lee has additionally been charged with using or having possession of criminal property, namely large quantities of cash, on September 27 in Brentwood borough.

The defendants did not make any pleas in Colchester and were released on bail.

They are due to appear in Chelmsford on Wednesday, October 26.