Driver causes £50,000-worth of damage

Police want the public’s help to trace a BMW that crashed into Virgin Media telecommunications boxes leaving 500 homes without services and causing £50,000-worth of damage.

The BMW failed to stop after mounting the kerb and hitting the boxes on London Road, Balderton, opposite the Manners Road turning at about 1am on Saturday.

As a result customers were left without broadband, telephone and television services over the weekend and beyond. Engineers were still trying to fix the damage on Tuesday.

The repair bill is estimated at £50,000.

The boxes are set well back from the road on a grassed area.

Sergeant Simon Brooks, of Newark Police, said debris from the vehicle involved included a BMW emblem, but he could not say what colour the car was because the other pieces were from the undercarriage.

Officers have established the BMW was travelling towards Fernwood.

Neighbours reporting hearing a screeching sound as the driver tried to free his vehicle from the wrecked boxes.

Sergeant Brooks said he was keen to hear from anyone who had seen a BMW with significant recent front-end damage or a garage that had been asked to repair one.

Anyone with information should call Pc 2548 Deborah Bakin on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Virgin Media was unavailable for comment.