Neighbour 'held street hostage' after row over internet access: 'Completely stuck!'
An inset of Jim Wardhaugh and Clamps Wood Street in East Kilbride
Jim Wardhaugh/Google Street View
An 83-year-old man has been left feeling like a “hostage” after a row about internet access broke out for a fortnight.
Customers living in a Scottish town lost TV and internet access for a fortnight after a cable broke on August 14.
The issue arose as the exposed wire allegedly ran through a private property but the occupant refused to let Virgin fix the problem without compensation.
Multiple residents living on Clamps Wood Street in East Kilbride were left in a difficult position as locals working from home inevitably faced major complications.
An image of houses on Clamps Wood Street in East Kilbride
Google Street View
Jim Wardhaugh, 83, told The Glasgow Times: “I felt like we were all being held hostage over an ongoing dispute between two parties.
“I had no access to television or e-mails. It was very annoying as I am on my own with the dog and I really rely on having that service.
“It is frustrating because I also couldn’t get through to Virgin about the issue, I just get automated emails and texts but no one to speak to.”
He added: “I felt completely stuck in the middle and it seemed unfair.”
The neighbour, who opted not to allow Virgin to fix the cable, confirmed that the telecommunications conglomerate requested access to his property to fix the damage.
The anonymous resident argued Virgin had no wayleave in place to enter the property.
This means the company would have no right of way granted by a landowner and is usually sorted in exchange for payment.
Wayleave is typically granted for the purpose of erecting telegraph wires or laying pipes.
However, GB News understands Virgin repaired the cable as soon as it was able to agree access.
A generic image of a Virgin worker
Virgin
The wire was reportedly installed by now-defunct communications company Telewest before the homeowner moved in around three decades ago.
Residents have claimed to have had little success with Virgin, excluding automated texts and emails.
A Virgin Media spokesperson said: “We required access to a property in order to repair damaged cable that was impacting a small number of customers’ broadband services on Clamps Wood Street.
"We completed this work as soon as we had access to the site, and affected customers have now had their services restored.
"We apologise for any inconvenience those customers experienced while we worked to agree access to the location.”
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