Villagers lose internet services after cables dug up cutting off 480 customers in Woodford

Residents and business owners have been left without broadband affecting phones, television and other services since underground cables were snapped by contractors creating footings for a wall.

At first, locals presumed the fault first detected at 5pm was a ‘minor hiccup’ but people started reporting they could see fibre cables visible on the verge in Thrapston Road.

Openreach, who manage the cable system for different service providers, attended the site on Thursday evening but no repair could be carried out.

Woodford resident Noreen said: “We’ve had no internet since Thursday afternoon – we are with Sky. The outage report read to me by Openreach said there is ‘extensive damage to underground cables caused by building works’.

“We are a couple of oldies so not up to date with mobile WiFi but have been rolling over gigabytes in Sky Piggybank so we can get emails. Unfortunately, we can't do any online banking as we use the laptop for this. This is a nuisance as we check our banking regularly.

"We have no Netflix and my husband can't do ebay as it’s all on the laptop and we can't buy anything as we don't use a phone for purchases.

“We are hoping it’s fixed before we have to pay our credit card as it means a trip to the bank.”

Self-employed trainer Aimee has not been able to carry out work as planned.

She said: “The loss of internet has had a huge impact on myself, being a self employed NDORS trainer, the internet is vital for my income. As a result, I have lost my courses and this has left me without an income until the matter is resolved.”

Postmistress Bal Suman who runs the village shop has been unable to offer services to the customers due to the outage.

She said: “This is really affecting my business. My card machine is not working. I have lost loads of money. If I can’t make money, I can’t pay my bills.”

Some people have been getting by using phones as hotspots – relying on data or sending children to their grandparents to watch their favourite television programmes.

Customers in the Dukes Arms are still able to enjoy watching the TV thanks to a satellite system and their card machines work on the mobile phone network.

The manager of the pub said: “It’s the third time this has happened. Loads of people have lost business. Not everyone has cash so we went cellular because it happened before.

“We have had to get our phone line redirected for bookings and cancellations. Phone calls is the biggest thing for us.”

Villagers have described the situation as a ‘nightmare’ and ‘beyond a joke’.

At Greedy Gordon’s farm shop and cafe, bookings have been affected as most customers call to reserve tables.

Mary Gordon said: “We have been told it might be back on Friday (April 25). It’s not helping small businesses.”

Jim, who usually works from home, said: “It’s massively affected me and it isn’t the first time. I spoke to Openreach and they said this is the third time.

"I work from home and I’m having to use my phone. My bill is going to be up because I’m using my data. It’s incredibly inconvenient.

"It’s not acceptable. If we are out for 10 days, then it’s £10 per household per day compensation for 480 households – that’s £50,000. It’s also the damage to the economy.”

Jim has been down to the site to see where the cables have been damaged.

He said: “Once is an accident, twice is foolhardy, the third time is ‘I’m not bothered’.”

Customers of PlusNet, BT, EE, Sky, Vodaphone reported outages suggesting this was a infrastructure problem rather than a service provider, but as the problem took place just at the start of the long Easter bank holiday weekend, the responses have been varied including saying it was ‘not a major issue’ as so few reports had been received.

A spokesman for Openreach said: “Our network has been damaged by a third party, just outside the village of Woodford, which is leading to broadband disruption for homes and businesses in the local area.

"It’s a complex repair, but our engineers are doing all they can to get people reconnected as quickly as possible.”

A spokesman for BT said: “We are aware of the damage to the network in Woodford – and our engineers are working on this already.

"It’s been a complex situation and we are doing everything we can to get people back up and running sooner rather than later.”

Michael Collins, who owns the property where the excavations have been taking place, apologised to residents for the ‘frustration’ caused.

He says the cables should be buried much deeper than the current depth.

He said: “I am very sorry for all the frustration and the problems with the internet cable. I have contractors who are doing lots of work at my property.

"Unfortunately a couple of days ago they broke the internet cables. I know the people in the village are very frustrated.”

Customers have been advised to report faults to their broadband provider. People with particular needs can also register as a vulnerable customer.

Broadband providers would also handle any compensation claims.

Update: The service has now been repaired temporarily.

A spokesperson for Openreach said: “Our engineers have carried out a temporary repair to get people back up and running, and will complete the permanent fix at the earliest opportunity. We thank everyone for their patience and understanding.”