PHONE lines and broadband have been cut off in part of a village for weeks with a business owner saying she is losing thousands of pounds in trade every day.

Harriet Cookson, who runs Lawford Service Station in Long Road, Lawford, with her dad Tony, says the phone lines first went down last Monday.

She said: “We’ve had no phone lines since then and we’ve lost quite a lot of business.

“People can’t phone for an MOT or to enquire about a car.”

But things got worse last Tuesday when the company also lost broadband, which is the only way the business can take card payments.

Harriet said: “You see people drive up to the petrol station and see the signs for cash only then drive away.

“A lot of people on the Lefleys estate have had no phone or broadband since February 23.

“A lot of elderly people that live on their own, their phone line is their lifeline.

“I dread to think how much money we have lost.”

Since last week the phone lines and broadband service has been intermittent.

But Harriet said her service provider, 2 Circles, has given her limited information on what is happening apart from that it could go on for another two weeks.

Contractors began digging up the road this week to find and fix the problem, which is thought to affect all customers, and from a range of providers, in that area.

Hearts Delight Garden Centre next door to the service station has also had problems.

A spokesman for 2 Circles said: “We have one person we believe is affected by this.

“We are doing everything we can with Openreach to resolve this issue as quickly as possible.”

An Openreach spokesman said: “An underground cable fault was reported on March 5, which affected service in the Lawford area.

“The repair work required traffic light management for engineers to carry out the work safely.

“We’re sorry for the inconvenience caused.

“The repair work is complex and time consuming and engineers having been working a quickly as possible.”

Work was hoped to be completed by yesterday afternoon.