BT continues work to restore phone services

Following last month’s lightning storms, BT has confirmed that around 300 customers in Orkney as still experiencing problems with their telephone service.

A spokesman said today that while repair work is under way, engineers are working ”flat-out” to restore services and that the workforce in Orkney has been doubled, with additional staff coming up from the Scottish mainland.

However, he said that there is no estimate as to when full repairs will be complete.

The prolonged lightning caused severe problems, with many individual lines blown and numerous overhead cables, serving small clusters of homes, affected. The frequency of the strikes also meant, that in some areas, engineers were required to replace equipment twice in one day.

The spokesman added that BT would like to thank local people in Orkney for their understanding and patience while repair efforts are ongoing.