6000 homes lose TV, phones
and internet at Christmas

THOUSANDS of residents in the central Scotland area were left without TV, phone and internet services for up to two days during this year's Christmas holiday period.

Angry Telewest customers were robbed of all services due to a technical fault which stopped them enjoying the season's TV, calling relatives and friends or using the internet.

More than 6000 residents in Cumbernauld and Falkirk had their service cut at 10.30am on Tuesday 27th December 2005 and a large proportion didn't receive restored service until the afternoon of Thursday 29th.

They were unable to make phone calls from home - even emergency ones.

Those who attempted to call Telewest from payphones or mobile phones found the process less than satisfactory. Some reported listeneing to holding music for 30 minutes before giving up, others that all they eventually got was a recorded message.

Telewest said the problem was caused by damage to a fibre optic cable and that they were investigating the cause of this. Engineers were reported to have worked around the clock to repair the damage.