BT has apologised after elderly residents were ‘reduced to tears’ due to a loss of landline service.

Carlisle customers in and around the Upperby Road area of Carlisle are without access to landline services, and service provider BT has been criticised for ‘constantly’ changing the announced date for when it will be fixed.

A resident whose relative is affected said: “Some elderly users have been reduced to tears after the fault developed last week but they have been given little hope of a resolution with BT constantly changing the timescale for the fault to be repaired.

“The latest estimate is that the fault will be repaired by 5pm on Friday (July 28) but on Monday (July 24) this week a recorded announcement stated that the repair would be effected within two hours.

“I am just at my wits' end trying to get BT to do something.

“They are saying that it is an exchange fault and there may be hundreds of subscribers affected but they don't actually know how many.

"It is affecting the mental health of my relative who has been reduced to tears because of the isolation she feels by not being able to contact her friends.

“Surely in this day and age with same day and next day deliveries, the appropriate replacement part could have been sourced, delivered and installed in a couple of days but BT doesn't seem to care about customer service anymore.

"BT's lack of urgency and their complacency over the issue will be leading me to make an official complaint to the Communications Ombudsman."

Most of the affected subscribers appear to be in the Currock and Upperby areas of Carlisle.

BT was asked for a timescale to be announced regarding repairs.

A spokesperson from Openreach said: “We’re very sorry for the loss of service in and around the Upperby Road area of Carlisle.  

“An underground cable fault requires more than 300 metres of cable to be replaced.

“Engineers have attended and tried to pull a new cable through but could not proceed due to two major blockages within the underground duct.

“We’re arranging for a team of civil engineers to clear the blockages as quickly as possible but the work will involve a full excavation so at this stage we don’t have a firm date when customers will be back up and running.”