Two men have been arrested for attempting to steal copper from a cell tower in Wisconsin.

The incident happened last weekend, per WEAU13, which reports that both men were arrested while caught trying to steal metals from the site.

Vernon County Sherrif Office named the two men as Stephen Nofsinger, 39, and Joshua Quario, 34, both from rural Kendall, Wisconsin.

The attempted theft took part at a communications tower site in Westby, in the town of Coon.

Both men have since appeared in court, with Nofsinger being held on a $500 cash bond. He is due back in court on June 10.

Quario was released on a $2,000 signature bond and is set to return to court on July 3.

The duo faces potential charges of criminal damage to property, trespassing, attempted theft, conspiracy to commit these crimes, and party to the crimes.

Separately, Nofsinger is also expected to be charged with bail jumping.

Deliberate tower damage is not uncommon in the US, with several similar incidents occurring in recent months.

Last month, two people were arrested for an attempted break-in at a cell tower site in Little Falls, Minnesota.

Also last month, a man in Florida was arrested after climbing a telecom tower, just a month after being arrested for doing the same thing.

In March, four men were arrested in West Boylston, Massachusetts, for allegedly stealing telecom cables to sell for scrap, while posing as T-Mobile contractors.

In January, suspected copper thieves toppled a 488-foot rod cell tower in Oklahoma, causing an estimated $500,000 in damage.

Elsewhere, a 36-year-old man faces more than 50 charges over the alleged theft of coaxial cable from cell towers across Buncombe County and Henderson County, North Carolina.