Village cut off from the world by BT: Mobiles don't work - and then the landlines went dead for SIX WEEKS
- Elderly residents have been left without phones for weeks
- Some residents need their landlines to run their businesses from home
For years there have been problems with the phone lines in the tiny village of Westdean, nestled in the South Downs.
Engineers are regularly having to pop out to reconnect one or two houses whose landlines have gone dead. Residents have been told it’s because the cabling is old.
Usually fixing the line is a matter of fiddling with a few wires in the local junction box. But on November 10, the problem got far worse — suddenly, in dozens of homes, the phone lines went dead. And many haven’t rung since.
Stranded: Residents of Westdean had to resort to using the village phone box when their BT lines went dead
Six weeks later, as Christmas grew closer, these locals — many of whom are elderly and retired — have been left unable to speak to their friends or family.
They have had to rely on neighbours whose lines are working to battle telecoms giant BT to get their phones restored. Others have had to resort to using the solitary phone box in the village.
Money Mail spoke to Robin Lloyd, 73, one of the few residents whose telephone line is connected.
He says: ‘It’s just a nightmare. Some people in this village run their own business from home and having a phone line is crucial.
‘And with elderly people living here, there is always the worry that there may be an emergency and no one would be able to make a call to get help.
‘It makes you realise how important having a phone is, especially at this time of year. We’ve been looking forward to our children coming to stay over Christmas and we wouldn’t even be able to contact them if our phone was down. Many of our neighbours are facing this problem.’
The residents of Westdean and neighbouring Litlington say the phone lines have been playing up for about four years. This means that when they pick up the phone, there is silence.
Those that have the internet also lose their connection. If you’re calling, the phone rings and rings, but at the other end there is no sound.
The location of these picturesque villages, deep in the South Downs, in East Sussex, means there is rarely any mobile signal — so a working landline is crucial.
Robin’s phone had been playing up on November 8 — the day before he was due to go on holiday.
He put in a call to BT as its Openreach service is responsible for the physical lines in and out of the village. It promised his service would be fixed by the time he got back.
Robin and his wife Rose, 71, who used to work together for a charity, were delighted when they returned home on November 16 to find the fault had been fixed.
But it was only when he got chatting to his neighbours he realised much of the village had been without a phone for almost a week.
Robin contacted BT immediately. Some locals had already sent letters or found a working phone to register a complaint.
BT says 26 homes in total across Westdean and Litlington are cut off — but locals in Westdean claim about half of the households in the village have lost their connection.
Westdean residents Anthony and Susan De Angeli had sent three letters to BT, but when their phone still wasn’t working after 18 days they contacted their local MP, Norman Baker for help.
He’d already been in touch with BT after complaints from other constituents, and had been expecting the repairs to be carried out on November 21.
But the BT lorry sent to fix the wires had been too big and couldn’t carry out the work without closing off the road. This would require council approval.
BT said it would contact the local council to arrange for the road to be closed off for the repairs. It told Mr Baker this would be done by December 10.
But this time BT was prevented from fixing the fault because the Highways Authority cancelled the road closure as another nearby road was already shut.
Incredibly the following day, the de Angelis received a letter from the office of BT’s chief executive and chairman saying the fault had been fixed.
The letter continued: ‘I have telephoned you on several occasions, regretfully without success.’
Apologies: BT said the work was delayed by a blocked duct and the need to close a road
Of course, the reason BT’s boss had not been able to get through on the phone was because the line had not been fixed at all. The work was rescheduled for December 11 — but again this never happened.
Mr Baker says: ‘It’s shocking. This is an area where mobile phone signal is poor or non-existent and these people have been left cut off.’
Last week, the village turned to Money Mail for help. Shortly after we contacted BT, a lorry was sent to fix the fault. However, this broke down. A second one was sent the following day. Finally, on Monday all but one line had been restored — just in time for Christmas.
A BT spokesman says: ‘Openreach apologises to those residents affected by the delay in repairing their phone lines.
‘To fix the problem we needed to replace 70 metres of underground cable, but, unfortunately, the work was delayed by a blocked duct and the need to close a road.
‘The duct has been cleared and new cable has been run and connected. Openreach engineers are currently working on the remaining faults, which they hope to clear before Christmas Day.
‘We will proactively be contacting the BT customers who have been affected to discuss compensation and a goodwill gesture with each customer on an individual basis.’
Most watched Money videos
- The new Volkswagen Passat - a long range PHEV that's only available as an estate
- Tesla unveils new Model 3 Performance - it's the fastest ever!
- MG unveils new MG3 - Britain's cheapest full-hybrid car
- German car giant BMW has released the X2 and it has gone electric!
- Mini unveil an electrified version of their popular Countryman
- Iconic Dodge Charger goes electric as company unveils its Daytona
- Steve McQueen featured driving famous stunt car in 'The Hunter'
- How to invest for income and growth: SAINTS' James Dow
- BMW meets Swarovski and releases BMW i7 Crystal Headlights Iconic Glow
- 'Now even better': Nissan Qashqai gets a facelift for 2024 version
- Land Rover unveil newest all-electric Range Rover SUV
- Skoda reveals Skoda Epiq as part of an all-electric car portfolio
- BHP launches £31bn bid for Anglo American: Audacious...
- MARKET REPORT: Meta sheds £130bn value after AI spending...
- PWC partners choose another man to become their next leader
- BUSINESS LIVE: Anglo American snubs BHP bid; NatWest...
- Sitting ducks: Host of British firms are in the firing...
- Anglo-American will not vanish without a fight, says ALEX...
- Unilever in talks with the Government about ice-cream...
- UK cybersecurity star Darktrace agrees £4.3bn private...
- LSE boss David Schwimmer in line for £13m pay deal...
- Sainsbury's takes a bite out of rivals: We're pinching...
- NatWest follows rivals with profit slump
- New private parking code to launch later this year that...
- Anglo American snubs 'opportunistic' £31bn BHP bid
- SMALL CAP MOVERS: Filtronic shares skyrocket following...
- WPP revenues shrink as technology firms cut advertising...
- WH Smith shares 'more for patient money than fast bucks',...
- AstraZeneca lifted by blockbuster oncology drug sales
- Ten stocks to invest in NOW to profit from Rishi's...