Residents and small businesses in Elsenham are up in arms after much of the village has been left without a working phone line for four days.

Villagers in Park Road, New Road, Jenkins Drive, Gold Close, Glebe End, Robin Hood Road, and the High Street have all been affected by the underground fault, which BT say is due to water damage.

Telephone lines in the village were reported as being down from Monday (January 11) and many residents are still without phone or internet access, which is causing havoc with small businesses.

Ann Fegan, of Options Hair Design in the village, said: “It is driving me insane. We run two businesses and have had to pay to divert calls to my mobile phone. But I can’t always answer my mobile so we’re missing out on business, it’s an absolute nightmare.

“Normally the appointments book would be full, but at the moment it’s pretty empty and customers are understandably getting frustrated that they can’t get through.

“We’ve also had the card machines down so customers have had to go and get out cash to pay, which is more hassle and inconvenience.

“I’m very angry and frustrated with the whole situation, and I can’t believe it has gone on this long.”

Many other residents took to social media to voice their displeasure at being cut off, with around 160 faults reported by people in the village.

BT spokesman Paul Hayward said: “We have an underground fault which started to develop after water got into it.

“Engineers have been onsite to take out the affected section of cabling, and are currently starting to put in a new cable. Once that is completed they will be able to start the work to join those affected back into service.

“As long as this work progresses well, we would hope to have nearly everyone back in service by the weekend. We are sorry for any inconvenience while this repair work is being carried out.”

The spokesman added that the best advice for businesses wanting compensation was to contact their service provider, as agreements may vary according to contracts.