On the day CableVision issued a writ over rivals World on Wireless, WOW boss Gavin Wilson came home to a nasty shock - his cable had been unceremoniously ripped out.

Mr. Wilson made the discovery on Friday evening at his home in Middle Road, Southampton.

Earlier in the day, CableVision issued a writ against WOW and the Minister of Telecommunications after WOW was awarded a licence to set up a rival, 114-channel digital cable television service.

Mr. Wilson told The Royal Gazette yesterday that he was concerned because whoever sabotaged his cable had to have specialist knowledge.

He said they would have had to know the cable - which was on the other side of the road opposite his house - was his.

The vandals had to climb a 30-foot pole and unravel a heavy galvanised wire before yanking out the cable.

No other homes in the area were targeted.

CableVision last night denied any knowledge of the incident, but Mr. Wilson said: “I just find it all very coincidental.

“Someone has gone up a 30-foot pole, which would mean they would need an extension ladder. It was yanked out and chucked on the road.

“Not too many people would know that that was my messenger cable to my house because the tap is not next to the house, it is on the other side of the road.

“My concern was that someone would have had to know that that was my messenger cable.

“They would have had to have known what they were doing.

“They would definitely have needed installation knowledge to do that.

“It was definitely a deliberate act.

“That cable came through Fabian without a problem and it is too high to have been hit by a truck, so there is no way it came off by accident.

“It has never happened to me before and I don't know of anyone else whom this has happened to.

“I was a little angry to say the least.”

CableVision general manager Jeremy Elmas said on Friday he had taken out the writ to allow CableVision to lodge concerns with the Telecommunications Commission to ensure that WOW's UHF frequencies do not cause interference.

A CableVision spokeswoman said last night: “Mr. Wilson just needs to follow the standard procedures and submit a service request to us and we have not yet received a call from Mr. Wilson.”

When asked if CableVision had any knowledge about what happened to Mr. Wilson's cable, the spokeswoman said: “No.”