Rats cause Tring Openreach broadband outage by chewing cables

Nesting rats chewed through ducting, outer casing and multiple cables, Openreach said

Thousands of people living and working in part of Hertfordshire have had their broadband restored after it failed because rats chewed through cables.

Openreach said its network in the Tring area had been affected.

Engineers discovered nesting rats had chewed through ducting, outer casing and multiple cables - equipment which usually needed a drill to get through.

The company apologised for the "rare" incident and said all customers should be reconnected by late afternoon.

An Openreach spokesperson said their engineers worked through the night "to repair the damage to our network caused by rodents in the Tring exchange area."

It would normally take a drill to get through the cable casing

The spokesperson said the repair effort had been hampered because access to its underground chambers had been covered over within a private property.

They said engineers had to gain access to the ducts to repair and replace the damaged cables "before re-sealing it to prevent further damage."

The company said the "vast majority of homes and businesses" had their connectivity restored by 02:00 BST, "with the last few remaining expected to be back online by late this afternoon."

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