A residential home has been without power to their main telephone line for more than a week and Hertsmere MP Oliver Dowden is working to try and get this solved.

The Laurels in Magpie Hall Road, Bushey Heath, had the telephone lines turned off on November 2 and there is no sign of being resolved.

Mr Dowden has spoken with senior members of staff at BT and has also brought the issue to the Hertsmere County Council’s attention.

He said: “I have been contacted by a number of Bushey Heath residents who have raised concerns about the telephone lines being down at The Laurels.

“Many who live at The Laurels are elderly residents who do not have mobile phones and rely upon their landlines in case of emergencies.

“I understand that many have personal alarms for medical emergencies but for these alarms to work, they are dependent upon their being a landline that is operational.”

The Laurels is a block of residential apartments and is home to a number of elderly people who do not have mobile phones and rely upon their landlines in case of emergencies.

Many of the elderly neighbours have contact BT but have been informed that the fault might not be addressed until well into December.

Rita Gibson, of The Laurels, said: “At the moment my phone is as dead as a dodo.

“The power has been out for around 10 days it is a nuisance.”

Martin Clarke, a neighbour in The Laurels, contacted Mr Dowden after the power was still out after a few days.

Mr Clarke said: “It is more inconvenient than difficult.

“I am more concerned with my neighbours who don’t have a mobile phone and rely on the main telephone line.

“Some of the residents are older than me and in their 90s. They don’t have mobile phones and rely on their main telephone line.”

According to some of the neighbours, those who have Sky have had their phone lines turned back on and it appears that only those on BT are still left without power.

Mr Dowden has made contact with senior directors at BT to demand that the telephone lines are fixed immediately and he was informed that the matter is currently being looking into and is being treated as an urgent item.

Mr Dowden said: “Whilst I appreciate that fixing such technical problems can be complicated, it is not acceptable that residents of The Laurels should have to wait until next month. The issue should be addressed within days rather than weeks.

“I will continue to monitor developments closely to ensure that residents’ concerns are addressed sooner rather than later.”