A damaged BT cable has left villagers cut off and unable to use their phone lines for three weeks.

Tracey Leaver, who runs The Chequers pub in Laddingford, says many people living in the area have had “no means of communication” since April 7.

She explained: “I have been told the problems first started at the beginning of April, and we noticed it had got really bad for us about a week after that.

“I reported it to our provider, who isn't BT but uses the same line, who confirmed there was a serious fault on the line.

“That was just before the Easter weekend so, being a pub, we were obviously worried that nobody would be able to book any tables.

“We're just a small village pub, so we don't have online booking or anything like that.

“It is purely the telephone that we rely on, and our provider said that there was nothing they could do and that it was all on BT.

“As a business, it's just really bad, I’m sure we’ve experienced a loss of trade.”

She says her provider managed to divert the line to a mobile, but that the village has “terrible signal” which has made things difficult.

“There’s no 4G or 3G,” she added.

“We’ve been able to get some calls from customers using Wi-Fi calling, but the problem is that a lot of our customers are quite old.

“So if we don’t get to the phone on time and it gets put through to a voicemail, they just put the phone down.”

She says she is particularly worried about elderly and vulnerable people who live in the village who do not have mobile phones and rely on their landlines.

Tracey, who has run the pub with her husband Charles for 31 years, explained: “When I've been talking to customers and villagers a lot of them don’t have smartphones so they can't get onto Wi-Fi calling.

“So they have no real way of contacting people or people contacting them.

“There is one gentleman who doesn't have the internet, he doesn't have a mobile, and he hasn't had a telephone line for over three weeks now.

“That just seems really, really bad in this day and age. If he fell or needed something, he wouldn't be able to get it.

“People with medical conditions are also unable to get through to doctors or carers.

“I just feel it's a really bad situation, and we don't seem to be getting any answers as to why it's taken so long.”

She says another villager told her they heard from BT on Wednesday (April 30) that the problems would be fixed by May 7 – but others have heard nothing back.

She added: “I know for younger people a landline is outdated.

“But when you're older, and that is your means of communication and it's the means of your family getting in touch with you - maybe you could do a few weeks – but nearly a month is a long time.

“I just feel it's such a bad, frustrating, and ridiculous situation to be in.

“I don't really feel it's acceptable for these people that don't have any means of communication.”

Local MP Katie Lam has contacted BT following the problems.

She said: “It’s unacceptable that rural communities still lack reliable broadband and mobile coverage.

“Phone access isn’t a luxury — it’s a lifeline, especially for elderly people who rely on it for their safety, health, and connection to those they love."

An Openreach spokesperson said: “We're very sorry for the phone and broadband disruption some people in Laddingford are experiencing.

“This is due to a badly damaged cable, which requires extensive civil engineering work in order to repair.

"We understand how frustrating this is and thank those impacted for their patience.

“Our engineers will get everyone back up and running as quickly as possible.”