Residents in Worlington, near Mildenhall, without internet or phone service for weeks after Openreach roadside cabinet damaged in crash

Residents in a Suffolk village are frustrated and worried due to weeks without internet or phone service after an Openreach cabinet was damaged in a collision.

The green roadside cabinet was hit by a vehicle in The Street, Worlington, near Mildenhall, on September 20, before the driver was later arrested and pleaded guilty to multiple charges.

Since the incident, people in the village have not been able to access the internet or make calls or texts.

Openreach said about 40 customers have had service restored and its engineers were working as quickly as possible to reconnect the remaining 17.

Jean Hurlock, of Worlington, said: “After the cabinet was shunted into the garden behind it, it’s taken all this time now to get the connection properly restored and the villagers have suffered because of it - it’s ridiculous and very frustrating.

“There are older pensioners in the village living alone. If they fall they have no way of letting anyone know they need help in an emergency. I’m extremely worried that someone will have an accident and not be able to get help, which is a big concern.”

One resident said that two of her children are doing their A-levels at the moment and are struggling with completing online work, while her daughter has also needed to revise for a university test and the lack of internet connection hasn’t helped her stress levels.

Another resident added that her son with special educational needs (SEN) hasn’t coped well as he has been unable to communicate with his friends.

An Openreach spokesperson said: “We’re sorry for the time it's taking to get everyone in Worlington reconnected, but cabinet smashes like this one – where a vehicle lost control and collided with it, leaving it completely out of action – can make repair work extremely challenging.

“The repairs are complex and time-consuming, replacing the cabinet frame, electronics, and connecting fibre and copper cables all need different specialist teams.

“Cabinets are mains powered, so we have to wait for the electricity supplier to switch off and isolate the damaged cab, so our engineers can work safely.

“In Worlington, we’ve also had to allow time for council permission to close off roads and manage traffic so engineers can work safely.”

They added: “A majority of customers – around 40, have already had service restored and our engineers are working as quickly as possible to reconnect the remaining 17 customers.”

A date is yet to be given for when the cabinet works will be completed.