Contractor accidently severed major cables causing mass service outage
Urgent repairs are being carried out in West Hill and Ottery St Mary after phone lines went down in an estimated 300 homes.
British Telecom (BT) today (Monday) confirmed that service has been restored to most of the properties affected after a contractor accidently severed two major cables on Friday (February 26).
County councillor Claire Wright said she was ‘inundated with complaints’ from residents and asked the company to address the problem urgently – particularly out of concern for elderly and vulnerable people.
A team of engineers went to investigate the site on Saturday and has now restored lines to most homes.
BT spokesman Jason Mann said: “Our underground network was accidently damaged by a third party and engineers have been working to restore services as quickly as possible.
“BT received 152 phone calls but most customers have now been restored and we are continuing to work to restore service to the remaining customers.”
Cllr Wright today thanked BT for acting so fast to fix a problem that was not of its making.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here