Buxton: Phone mast needs 'complete rebuild' after arson attack

The phone mast fed into three others nearby

A phone mast that was damaged during an arson attack before Christmas requires a "complete rebuild".

The mast, located off Lightwood Road in Buxton, Derbyshire, fed into three others nearby.

The damage caused by the fire has left some mobile phone users struggling to get signal.

O2 has apologised to customers and said its infrastructure partner Vodafone was working to restore the mast - but it needed to be removed and rebuilt.

Jenna Beresford, of Allied Taxis, said 4G signal was affected

Jenna Beresford, of Allied Taxis, told the BBC the lack of signal was affecting the business.

She said: "Landlines are coming through all the time but it's mobiles that are hit and miss and it's those callers that will be constantly ringing you back.

"That caller on a mobile is then blocking all the other calls from coming through, so we are constantly losing money from all of this.

"Honestly I think it's a let-down, it's a let-down to the whole of High Peak because it's taken so long for them to sort out, you can't even get 4G."

A spokesperson for Vodafone said the arson attack caused extensive damage to the mast.

They said: "Unfortunately, this is a recurring problem of vandalism that all network operators are facing.

"Our network team are working closely with third party contractors to ensure the mast is safely taken down and once the site is secure, will begin the rebuild.

"The mast affected fed into three other nearby masts, leaving us with a bigger coverage hole than just the impact of one mast being out of service, and our team are now working to re-route those three masts.

"We know this is an inconvenience to customers and we're sorry - our team is working hard to restore services."