The Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) suffered widespread service outages in several Grand Bahama areas yesterday, after its Lewis Yard sub-station was hit by copper thieves around 1am.

The communities of Pinder's Point and Hunters, as well as portions of the Hawksbill area on Grand Bahama, were worst affected.

Restoration teams were immediately dispatched to the area, and worked to replace the damaged wire and restore services. However, BTC warned that residential and commercial customers in the area can anticipate delays in the resumption of their services for landline and cell.

"We want to ask the public to be alert in instances like this," said BTC's northern vice-president, Eldri Ferguson Mackey. "The impact is large and the cost is significant, but we want to work with the police department.

"We are asking citizens to call in with any tips you may have to the police, and we're offering a reward to anyone who can give us a lead into who is doing this and disrupting everyone's essential services."

This incident represents the second time in four days that BTC has been targeted by copper thieves, creating significant challenges for commercial and residential customers who depend on the services.

"Our team here in GB has worked diligently to repair our services after Hurricane Mathew," said Mrs Ferguson Mackey. "Now that we are back to full service it's so disappointing that our customers are forced to deal with this inconvenience because of a few dishonest persons."

See photos on pg8