RESIDENTS of a Dorchester street have been left without landlines or internet services for 14 days - after a telephone pole was struck by lightning during Storm Francis.

The pole, in Fenway Close, was struck by lightning as the county was battered by the storm on August 27, but services have remained down for the majority of those living there since.

Openreach, a telecommunications company which operates as an extension of BT, said it is aware of the fault but has not yet been able to resolve the issue.

The street is home to a number of elderly residents, some of which are disabled and many who are self-isolating during the coronavirus pandemic, who said they rely on their landlines for outside communication.

A number of affected residents use the Careline service, which is designed to support older and disabled people with the knowledge that they can always call for help in an emergency.

One resident, Alan Cousins, said: “It’s been a nightmare for all of us. The average age of the street is probably more than 60 and a lot of people are self-isolating so we are all very reliant on our landlines to communicate.

“I can’t speak for the whole street but me and my wife can barely work our mobile phones.

“One woman who lives on the street is 89 years old and has been sleeping on a chair for the past fortnight. She won’t go to bed because she’s worried she might fall out and won’t be able to call anyone if she does. It’s been a bit of an ordeal for her.”

Engineers were sent out shortly after the lines went down and marked up measurements next to the telephone pole. Residents said that had been told by Openreach that they would have to dig up some of the pavement to carry out the repair works and would therefore need to be granted permission from the council.

Mr Cousins added: “They first told us it would be fixed on the Wednesday following the storm, then it moved to the next day and then the next after that. The latest we’ve heard is that they are coming on Monday but we don't know if that will get extended again.

“I’m chasing them up regularly as are several of our neighbours.”

An Openreach spokeswoman said: “To repair the fault we need to build new ducting and this requires traffic management. We’re doing everything we can to get this work done quickly but we also need to do it safely. We encourage anyone who is experiencing any problems with their service to contact their provider as quickly as possible and we’ll be notified.”