A RESIDENT has accused BT of 'ineptitude' after waiting almost a week for an internet cable to be fixed.

Steve Burrows said the wire was torn down by a tree which blew over in Church Lane, Whittington, Worcestershire, on Thursday, January 18.

Mr Burrows, who lives and works in the street, now has to use his mobile phone to access the internet.

A spokesman for BT Openreach said it is making every effort to complete the repairs by the end of the week. 

Mr Burrows said: "I only get a certain data allowance on my phone and it's using it up fast. I will have to pay for extra data.

"It's affecting my business. I rely on my broadband for access to my emails and documents.

"Croome Cuisine [also based in Church Lane], which makes cheese, has had to buy dongles to keep his business running.

"He needs the internet for taking orders.

"It's not the money, it's the sheer frustration. The ineptitude."

Mr Burrows, aged 59, who works for the Home Office from his home, wants BT Openreach to fix the cable as soon as possible.

He said: "The cable was between two telegraph poles. When the tree came down it tore the cable down but didn't break it.

"The land owner was straight out and chopped this huge tree up and cleared the road.

"Openreach then cut the cable. That they cut it off makes it worse."

Mr Burrows added that the residents still had landline and internet access before BT cut the wire.

He said: "They cut us off and now it's taking forever, we can't get an update for when they are doing anything.

"I'd like an update on when it's going to be done."

The tree was blown down in the early hours of Thursday morning and blocked the road.

A spokesman for BT Openreach said: “I understand every effort is being made to complete the repairs before the end of this week…no road closures are required to enable the work to be carried out safely.

“Engineers need to replace a section of overhead cable that was brought down by a tree. As a result of this incident 10 customers – who could take their service from any communications provider – are affected.

“It is regrettable when Openreach suffers any accidental damage to its network. When that happens, every effort is made to restore the services of those affected as quickly as possible, which is what engineers are doing in this case.

“Openreach apologises for any inconvenience caused and advises those people affected to contact their service provider (ie the company they pay their bill to) to see if they can arrange to divert incoming calls to an alternative number while the repair work is going on.”