Home   Grantham   News   Article

Subscribe Now

Harlaxton homes without internet or phone lines since Boxing Day




The pole has been split in two and remains on Swine Hill in Harlaxton.
The pole has been split in two and remains on Swine Hill in Harlaxton.

Residents on a Harlaxton street have had no internet or landline phones since Boxing Day, after snow caused a telephone pole to collapse into a front garden.

Following the Boxing Day snowstorms, Swine Hill homeowner Adrian Peasgood awoke to find the metal pole in front of his bungalow had fallen down into his fence, dragging telephone wires on to his lawn.

Since then, Mr Peasgood and seven neighbouring bungalows have been without internet or landline phones, having to rely instead on their mobile phones, and face the prospect of costly bills.

“We’ve had no correspondence since the engineer came out to move the pole and cut down the wires. I’ve had to fix the fence myself. For some reason we’ve had a hollow, metal pole rather than the wooden ones with metal rings to take the weight of the wires.”

Fellow Swine Hill residents David and Brenda Hall contacted the Journal as they said they did not know where else to turn. Mr Hall, aged 80, said: “We’re sick and fed up with it. What’s worse is that we keep getting letters through the door saying how great BT’s connection is.

“Our son lives in Germany and it is costing us a fortune to call him,” added Mrs Hall, aged 76. “The pole is hollow and rusted inside, so that’s why it happened.”

Also affected is Tina Mayo, aged 70, currently looking after her 13-month-old granddaughter who said it was ‘ridiculous’ and has found it difficult to make arrangements with her family and book doctor’s appointments.

Another neighbour, Alan Hollingworth, aged 66, said: “We’ve all tried to make contact with our internet providers, but nobody has told us when the work will be done.

All the residents are also worried about the effect on their 94-year-old neighbour who suffers from Alzheimer’s, who they know needs the telephone to organise medical prescriptions and to keep in contact with her carer.

A BT spokesman on behalf of Openreach, who install and maintain the local network on behalf of all service providers, said: “As a result of the damage caused during high winds, a new telephone pole needs to be erected on Swine Hill in Harlaxton.

“It’s really unfortunate when damage like this occurs and our priority now is to restore services as quickly as possible to the eight properties affected. Specialist equipment is needed to complete the installation of the new pole and we anticipate this will take place early next week.

“Engineers will then attend to finish any cable work. We would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused.”



Comments | 0
This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies - Learn More