Phone line damage caused service outage in Perthshire

Image source, PA

Damage to fibre cables by a digger has disrupted landline phone services in Perthshire.

Areas hit by the outage include Aberfeldy, Kenmore, Bridge of Balgie and Glenlyon.

It has also had an impact on 999 emergency calls in the area. Emergency services urged people to avoid making non-urgent calls to keep available lines clear.

An Openreach spokeswoman said 2,800 households were affected.

She added that service were restored at 21:30.

The problems stemmed from damage caused when a mechanical digger severed a cable between Aberfeldy and Pitlochry.

Police Scotland's advised those needing to contact the emergency services to try a landline or mobile in the first instance.

If that was unsuccessful, it suggested flagging down an emergency service vehicle which was not using its blue lights.

Alternatively, they were urged to report an emergency to a local police station, hospital, fire or ambulance station if possible.