Rudgwick homes still without phone line

Mark Jones, of Tisman’s Common, contacted the County Times on Thursday January 19 to ask if he was the only one still awaiting connection after an overhead aerial cable was damaged.

The pole and ‘a large amount of cable’ will need replacing to the four homes it feeds.

Mr Jones said: “As for coping, well it’s obviously not as serious these days with mobiles available, but it’s been very inconvenient being without the internet.

“We shop, study, bank, use social networks and work online, so all this has been suspended for the duration.

“I’ve read the newspaper from cover to cover every day and got through more books. And I have to check the weather on teletext!

“So it’s not up there with the most pressing problem that people have, but it seems remarkable that BT could take so long over a fix in 2012.

“My wife is self-employed, so there’s the possibility she’s losing work over it.”

The ferocious weather which battered the Horsham district has ‘increased the work load’ for BT engineers.

A spokesperson for BT said: “We have a damaged overhead aerial cable which needs replacing.

“It provides service to four customers, we have tried to provide temporary service, but this had not proved possible.

“We need to renew a pole and replace a large amount of cable.

“We do apologise for the delay, the storms across the UK at the beginning of the year, have increased the work load for the team needed to do this work, they are going to try to get there over the weekend, but if that is not possible, then they will be there at the beginning of next week.

“BT Retail customers could certainly have their phone lines diverted to their mobiles to reduce inconvenience.”