Phone lines were down for up to five days
Would-be cable thieves left villagers without phones and crossed wires for up to five days.
Customers in Stisted reported problems with their phone lines from last Friday morning.
BT said underground cables had been cut, affecting 84 people, and engineers fully restored services by the end of Tuesday.
No cable was stolen.
But villagers questioned why repairs could not have been carried out sooner.
The Onley Arms had to turn away customers unable to pay by cash and cheque, and there were reports elderly people who had panic alarms connected to their phones had to disconnect them.
