STACKS of railway cables have been recovered by police after they were stolen from lines across Essex.

British Transport Police have warned that stealing railway cables can lead to serious delays across the c2c and Greater Anglia networks.

The police say thieves steal the railway cable, sell it on as scrap and strip it down so it is untraceable.

The force made a huge discovery of stolen cables yesterday.

A spokesman said: "Yesterday we had to call in Network Rail to help us seize all the stolen cable we found.

"We're working hard to reduce disruption to your journey."

Report crimes to British Transport Police by texting 61016 or call 0800 405040.