Concern for vulnerable villagers left without internet for almost two weeks after car crash

The lack of connection has led to concern for some of the village's more vulnerable residents.

Councillor Heather Kidd said residents had received mixed messages about being reconnected.

"I am really concerned that even when we have households of poorly vulnerable Openreach take two weeks to reconnect people," she said, adding that in 2021 it took 10 days to restore connections after a similar crash at the same junction.

"This is really concerning for elderly people but also all of those who now have yo work from home. Many rural areas just don't have mobile phone signal to give a back up service."

Openreach has said it is hoping to restore connections by the end of the week with work taking longer than expected due to the significant amount of damage.

Work has included a new pole on the A490 approaching the junction with the B4386 from the Churchstoke direction, as well as repairs to some of the underground network. Engineers are due to replace the pole and fix the underground damage on Thursday.

A spokesperson said: "Our engineers are working hard to repair the extensive damage here. We need to replace the pole and due to the extent of the damage, also need to carry out repairs to some of the underground network. It’s a complex job.

"We understand how frustrating it is to be without broadband and have looked at whether there is any possibility of providing some sort of temporary service, but sadly there isn’t.

"We’re doing everything we can to get the work done this week, and will do our best to keep everyone updated. Our priority is to get customers re-connected as quickly as possible.”

Explaining why engineers couldn't set up a temporary connection, the Openreach spokesperson added: "Sometimes, we can redirect bits of the network, or put in some temporary cables to keep people connected. But it’s not always possible and engineers couldn’t find a way to do it here."

Villagers said the driver was 'lucky to get out alive' after his car ended up upside down in a wall at the junction at around 10.50pm on September 29.

He remained trapped in his car for more than 40 minutes as he awaited for emergency services to arrive.

The first 999 call was made just after 10.50pm but the first fire crews didn't arrive until around 11.30pm with police and ambulance crews following shortly afterwards.

The call was initially sent to Dyfed-Powys Police which sent it to West Mercia Police, which in turn contacted Shropshire Fire & Rescue Service and West Midlands Ambulance Service, although the fire and ambulance services weren't informed until nearly half an hour after the crash.

This has led to concerns from those in Chirbury, which lies around two miles from the border with Powys, about how long it took for emergency services to attend.