On Fri, 24 Jan 2014 19:15:14 +0000, Steve wrote:

And that, my friend, is the crux of the matter. If you really must
have it moved, don't be tempted to do anything silly during the night
or to do something surreptitiously - do it officially and properly by
contacting BT. You don't know the condition of the part of the pole
that's in the ground

I don't even want to consider what the preservatives on these things is
- but the poles that were removed from here the other day - after 51
years in the ground - were _perfect_.

They often are, but I've also seen some rotten ones that *looked*
perfect. I was a cable jointer on BT for about 20 years and the oldest
pole I've been up was 76 years old and perfect - but I've seen condemned
poles that have been about 30 years old or less.

I wonder if, at some stage, the preservatives were changed for something
less... vehement (but effective)?