Thousands of Hertfordshire villagers and businesses are left without internet for three days after rats sparked an Openreach broadband outage by chewing through cables
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Thousands of people living in Hertfordshire have been left without internet for three days after rats chewed through underground cables.
Openreach, owned by BT Group plc, has said its network in the Tring and surrounding area has been severely affected.
Engineers discovered how nesting rodents had chewed through ducting, outer casting and multiple cables which, usually, would need a drill to get through.
More than 5,000 homes and businesses have been affected, according to local media in the area, and many have now taken to social media to share their frustration and anger at the situation.
On Twitter, Tring Radio complained: ‘How can a whole town be brought to a standstill by rats in this day & age?! No internet for 3 days!!
People living and working in Tring, Hertfordshire, have been left without broadband for three days after rats chewed through cables
People living in the area shared their anger at the situation on social media
‘Lots of compensation has got to be coming Tring and the surrounding villages way – for the 5000+ homes and businesses affected! Totally outrageous in the modern age.’
Another Tring resident wrote: ‘Everyone around us has no internet whether it be Sky, BT or Virgin etc. Very frustrating! Not sure how it can take such a big company so long to fix.’
A third also added that all people want is ‘an accurate prediction when the internet connection will be restored – it’s that simple’.
Openreach has apologized for the network outage and said it is an ‘extremely rare’ incident.
A spokesperson for the broadband and telephone network said: ‘Engineers have now gained access to the ducts and are in the process of repairing and replacing the damaged cables before re-sealing it to prevent further damage.’
Openreach said it aimed to have the majority of customers back online by late Wednesday.
Pictured: Tring High Street in Hertfordshire which is experiencing broadband outages
Openreach, which is owned by BT, has apologized for the ‘extremely rare’ network outage