Stormy weather delaying broadband repairs

Teams trying to restore internet supplies in rural areas of Cornwall say continuing poor weather has hampered work.

Engineers from Openreach have been attempting to reconnect broadband services after Storm Goretti caused damage on 8 January, but the continued bad weather including Storms Ingrid and Chandra had delayed the process.

Customers said they are feeling "vulnerable" and have been told their broadband might not be reconnected until the second week of February.

Openreach said Storm Goretti had caused the "worst impact" to its Cornish network in living memory and apologised to customers still without internet.

Andy Brigden, who lives in a rural valley on the ourskirts of Truro, said having no internet has had a big impact on him and his wife.

Brigden said: "My wife had complications following surgery, but we couldn't get online to triage her situation.

"Instead, I had to run to the top of the valley, speak to a paramedic and then run back down get answers from her and then run back again to call them back."

Crean, a village three miles (5km) from Land's End, has had no internet or landline service since Storm Goretti.

Resident Patti Tobin said she had to go outside to make calls due to having no connection at home.

Tobin said: "When I do get through all I get is a disembodied voice.

"You can't actually speak to a person and tell them how frightening it can be.

"I feel very vulnerable because if something did go wrong where do I go to call for help?"

Openreach said its engineers had been "working round the clock" to repair the damage and reconnect customers.

However, it said wind speeds and gusts had restricted the use of hoists to carry out work to replace aerial cables.

"We're very sorry to those customers still affected but our engineers are working as quickly as possible to get to them," the company said.

"Unfortunately, the reality is that this type of repair work – closing roads, replacing poles and overhead cables – is complex and time consuming."

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