Fears for 'isolated' 94 year old left without phone line for a week

The housebound pensioner, who lives off Colney Lane in Cringleford, has not had a phone connection since Tuesday, October 25.

And without a mobile phone, she is cut off from her loved ones.

Her 64-year-old daughter, Pauline Woodbridge, travels from Carmarthen in Wales once a month to see her mother - who has asked to remain anonymous - but fears for her mum's safety when she's not there.

Pauline Woodbridge feared for her isolated mother, who was without a phone line for 10 days (Image: Pauline Woodbridge)

Mrs Woodbridge's main concern is that if her mother - who she said is unsteady on her feet - falls, she will not be able to call for help via telephone or the Careline on her wrist, which relies on a landline connection.

It is not clear how may other households have been affected, though much to Mrs Woodbridge's relief her neighbours' lines remain intact and she has been able to check on her mother via them.

A spokeswoman for Openreach has apologised for the disruption to services.

"I've just been banging my head against the wall," Mrs Woodbridge said.

"I was in tears one morning with her provider, TalkTalk. It's not their fault but it doesn't help my mum.

"She's really isolated. For her this is worse than Covid - even though we couldn't visit her at least then she could talk to us on the phone.

"But it's not just her phone line.

"I'm frightened that if she falls she'll lay there for hours because her Careline won't work.

"She's equally anxious and she's feeling really isolated. There's only so many times a neighbour can pop round."

A spokeswoman for Openreach explained how the repairs consist of replacing a broken down section of cable.

In order to joint connect the new cable, four-way traffic lights are required.

The spokeswoman added: "We understand how frustrating this can be.

"The engineers should be onsite Thursday, November 3 to rectify the fault and have everyone affected online as soon as possible.'"