Bacton villagers without landlines or broadband for weeks

Villagers say they have had to communicate via email and letters after damage during Storm Franklin left them without broadband and landlines.

People from Bacton, Herefordshire, said they felt like "the land that time forgot" as a fallen telegraph pole was still down after more than two weeks.

Mobile phone signal is patchy in the village and some elderly residents have had to be reached via written letters.

Openreach said 650 telegraph poles had been damaged during the recent storms.

Jon Stroud, a self-employed photographer, said he relied entirely on being able to contact clients. He said he had no mobile reception in his house and had to walk about 200m up the driveway for signal which was not always reliable.

Mr Stroud added as well the issue affecting his business, he was worried for his 90-year-old mother who is currently in hospital in Berkshire.

He said: "She is anxious and frightened and communication with her and her doctors has been very difficult."

Charles Hunter said due to his printer also not working, he had had to go back to "longhand communicating" with those in the village who were completely isolated.

A spokesperson for Openreach said: "Thirteen properties in Bacton are still waiting for their service to be repaired."

They added fixing telegraph poles was "time-consuming repair work" that would often lead to safety measures having to be taken, such as road closures.

The spokesperson added engineers would be on site later and "would do their best to find a solution as quickly as possible".

Many residents have said Herefordshire Council promised fibre broadband for the village five years ago and the combination of no broadband, weak phone signal and a broken landline connection has been "catastrophic".

Herefordshire Council has been contacted for comment.

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