A group of neighbours were left in the hole after waking up on Wednesday morning to find nearly all the manhole covers on their street were missing.
Residents of Edgewood Drive in Orpington, Greater London, were initially mystified by the discovery of 21 exposed shafts along their road.
Doorbell camera footage from one house revealed a hooded man detaching two of the covers and making off with them at around 1 am the night before.
The residents believe the same man pulled off the entire heist alone and might be selling them for scrap.
I got a message in our neighbourhood WhatsApp group chat with photos of the empty wells warning people to watch out.
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Kat Lechowska, 36, who has lived in her flat in the area for three years, said: ‘We have been told by Thames Water that 21 manhole covers were stolen all in one night.
‘We have heard of some other petty theft such as breaking car windows to get change but never manhole covers. It is really bizarre.
‘When I first found out I started laughing. Then I tried to help my neighbours figure out who to report this to.
‘It is a very unusual thing to steal. We think that it was for scrap metal but one of my neighbours said they might appear on eBay.’
The incident was reported to Thames Water and the management company which owns the land where the manholes are placed.
The covers were all replaced later on Wednesday.
Thames Water has confirmed that they investigated the incident, but that since it is private land the management company are responsible for their replacement.
The Metropolitan Police did not immediately confirm whether the thefts were reported to them or are being investigated.
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