Weeks of phone problems prompt compensation call

Openreach said it was difficult to say how many people in total had been left without a landline

An 81-year-old woman is calling for compensation after she and her neighbours were left without a landline for three weeks due to faulty cabling.

Margaret Stone, who lives in Smalley, Derbyshire, said her biggest concern was when some of her friends who do not have a mobile phone were left cut off.

She said she feared for them if an emergency occured and felt three weeks was a long time to be without service.

After the BBC contacted Openreach, Mrs Stone's landline was restored on Friday but the company said five customers remained cut off as work continues to repair and replace about 145m (475ft) of cable.

Mrs Stone was particularly concerned for her neighbours without a mobile phone

Openreach said it was difficult to say how many people in total had been affected, as due to the type of cable some were fully out of service, some only lost voice calls and some lost nothing at all.

Mrs Stone said being without a landline had made her anxious.

"I rely on talking to people – I do go out but the fact you can't use your landline, it is not very good mentally," she said.

"One of my friends said 'I have been trying to get through to you for three weeks'.

"When you live on your own, it can be a lifeline to be honest.

"I do think a number of us should get some compensation.

"It's the worry, the stress of some of our friends not being able to contact each other.

"If anyone is poorly and not got the access to the phone, it is really not good is it?"

'Doing our best'

An Openreach spokesperson said: "We are currently experiencing some disruption to telephone lines in the Smalley area, but homes and businesses should still have broadband.

"This is because we've been working to repair and replace around 145 metres of faulty underground cable."

The spokesperson said service had been gradually been restored as the cabling work progressed.

"We understand how frustrating it is for some to be without a telephone line, and our engineers are doing all they can to get this work completed as quickly as possible."