MARTLESHAM HEATH: More than 100 residents were left frustrated after their television signal was mysteriously switched off.

Elliot Furniss

MARTLESHAM HEATH: More than 100 residents were left frustrated after their television signal was mysteriously switched off.

The problem occurred in Martlesham Heath, where hundreds of houses, built originally for BT workers, use an unusual cable system that provides them with their analogue service.

Although many residents have had aerials or dishes fitted to their houses over the years in order to receive extra channels, more than 100 are thought to still use the out-dated system that feeds the signal directly into their homes.

The fault first became apparent on Monday, although Virgin Media, which operates the system, said it had occurred on Tuesday.

Retired telecoms engineer Peter Loosemore said his elderly mother-in-law was one of many residents that relied on the service and had been let down by the sudden switch-off.

Mr Loosemore, who lives in Martlesham Heath but has an aerial for his own TV reception, said: “(She) is in her eighties and relies on the cable system for her TV reception and has now been left without service, even though Virgin is still billing her for it.

“Having talked to others on the village there is widespread anger over what Virgin has done.”

The signal was switched back on at about 2pm on Tuesday but Mr Loosemore said it had taken many frustrating phone conversations with Virgin staff to get them to acknowledge the problem.

A Virgin Media spokeswoman apologised for the temporary switch-off and attributed it to a “technical error” which occurred during routine analogue switch-off work.

She added: “Negotiations are ongoing as to the future of our analogue TV service in this area, but there are no immediate plans to make any changes to the service our customers currently receive.”

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