Up to 50 homes in Battle left without internet for nearly a month, residents say
Up to 50 homes in a street in Battle were left without internet access for almost a month.
Paul Carpenter, who lives in Hastings Road, said the problem started after a lorry travelling up the road with its hydraulic platform fully elevated hit several overhead power and BT lines on July 6.
He said: “Live power lines were left just lying across the road and gardens, simply having been ripped out of the front walls of houses. A telegraph pole was also brought down, severing BT lines and internet connections to all these homes.”
He said many residents who lost their connection are retired and ‘receive their critical medical information via the internet’, while others work from home.
Paul added: “It appears that almost 50 homes were affected.”
He said Openreach ‘promised’ to reinstate the BT lines by July 10 and a road closure was put in place but more than three weeks later residents were still without any internet access.
He said: “Over the weeks several other Openreach vans appeared but disappeared again within 15 minutes. Several other completion dates were promised but on July 24 I spoke to an Openreach person in the road, who was just surveying and understanding the extent of the damage. They were clearly shocked at the size of the task which is much more extensive than they had been led to believe.”
Dr Mullan said he ‘repeatedly pressed for urgent action and clear communication with affected residents’.
An Openreach spokesperson said: “We're sorry for the disruption affecting homes in Battle. While a damaged pole has already been replaced, further work was needed.”
The company spokesperson added that repairs were carried out on Wednesday (July 29).
Openreach confirmed on Friday (July 31) that internet access had been restored.