Broadway residents stage protest as broadband poles erected

A 75-year-old man has been taken to hospital after trying to stop wooden poles being erected for broadband supplies in a Worcestershire village.

David Owen spent more than four hours in one of the lorries brought in by contractors, in Broadway.

Up to 80 residents gathered in Avrill Close, to try to disrupt erection of the poles, some of which are 11m high.

Provider Full Fibre said it had worked hard to respond to all concerns and to highlight the importance of the work.

West Mercia Police officers were called to the village and said they were providing reassurance and ensuring any disruption was kept to a minimum.

The man was taken to hospital in an ambulance after being taken off the lorry.

Full Fibre intends to install 22 poles between 9m (29ft) and 11m (36ft) tall, but residents say they are ruining their neighbourhood and broadband speeds are fine as they are.

Villager Lisa Kelly said she felt "disenfranchised" and residents, who didn't feel listened to, were just "exercising our right to disagree with what is going on".

"We live in a very nice area, we have got very good neighbourly relations and we do not want ugly eyesores on our streets where nothing exists at the moment," she said.

"We have alternative means of broadband, super fast broadband coming, so we do not need the poles option and Full Fibre have not engaged at all with the residents as far as I'm aware.

However, Full Fibre said it had been doing work to address residents' concerns.

"We are a business that is working to upgrade the UK's infrastructure to future-proof towns and villages," a spokesman said.

"However, we are aware that these changes can bring a level of disruption, and we continually strive to minimise any impact as much as possible.

"This includes working with communities to reduce their frustrations and understand the importance of the work we are doing.

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