Virgin Media contractors accidentally trap family inside home

Updated
Family trapped in home by Virgin Media
Family trapped in home by Virgin Media



Virgin Media has been forced to apologise after its engineers barricaded a woman and her daughter inside their home.

Cable contractors working for the firm dug a trench and put up fencing all round the house in Bolton before leaving at 2.00pm for the day.

Dave Henshall, 47, returned from work to find that he couldn't get his car onto the drive - or even get into the house himself without fighting his way across the rubble. His wife and daughter were trapped inside.

"I was astonished. I had to fight my way into my own house. It's extremely dangerous. There's rubble everywhere," he tells the Manchester Evening News.

He added: "I couldn't park on my own drive. They left it like this and just b***ered off."

Virgin Media has apologised, blaming outside contractors.

"Virgin Media expects the very highest standards of work from all its contractors," it tells the MEN.

"We apologise for the inconvenience we have caused during work to lay ultrafast broadband on this street and we will be discussing the matter with the contractors as a matter of urgency."

Family trapped in home by Virgin Media fencing
Family trapped in home by Virgin Media fencing



Cable engineers often seem to be a law unto themselves, and Virgin Media a particular offender. The company's currently rolling out a £3 billion national programme called Project Lightning, promising speeds of up to 200Mbps for consumers and 300Mbps for businesses by 2019.

However, it's come under fire for the quality of its work, recently finding itself in trouble after making a mess of reinstating pavements in York, for example.

Last year, indeed, Richmond Council fined Virgin Media £28,000 for risking the safety of pedestrians and motorists.

The company had been working without the right permits, failing to guard roadworks or put up warning signs for road users, willfully blocking roads and pavements and making a poor job of reinstating roads and pavements after the work.

As the council's cabinet member for highways and street scene, Stephen Speak, said at the time, "Residents certainly don't pay their council taxes to remedy the shoddy work and practices of large corporations."

Utility companies, including phone operators, are required to comply with the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991, which lays down rules on the safety of excavations and standards for reinstatement after the work's finished.

If you have any complaints, you should approach your local council.



Virgin Media Spending £3 Billion on 'Superfast' Broadband in UK
Virgin Media Spending £3 Billion on 'Superfast' Broadband in UK

Advertisement