Fed-up residents in an area of Highland Perthshire are being forced to drive several miles to make phone calls amid a long-running mobile blackout.
Hundreds of people living in and around Kirkmichael and Ballintuim were cut off from phone networks after adverse weather at the end of January.
But despite locals in the Mount Blair region repeatedly asking for the issue to be addressed, BT-owned EE has so far failed to do so.
The mobile network says it has been unable to access the local mast site due to fallen trees but that engineers hope to gain entry this week.
Damage to local infrastructure means no calls can be made in some areas, including to emergency services, sparking fears of a possible tragedy.
Kirkmichael resident Colin Reed said: “The main concern is there could be a delay in the emergency response to a road traffic collision, a fire, or a hill rescue.
“Keeping in contact with vulnerable family is also a worry.”
Mr Reed, who does not have a landline, says he has to drive outside the village just to make a phone call or to send text messages.
Two-and-a-half-mile trip to make calls
He says can only make calls and send messages through apps such as WhatsApp when connected to Wi-Fi.
He said: “I make a two-and-a-half-mile round trip three times per day just so I can use my mobile.
“It doesn’t sound like much but when it’s every day for weeks on end, it’s frustrating.
“I need to receive a text message every time I use online banking too; it’s inconvenient at best.
“Damage happens, we all know that. But where’s the back-up plan?”
The issues come as politicians in Scotland demand rural Scots receive extra help to stay connected during major storms.
Ian Gossip, another Kirkmichael resident, said: “From business and safety points of view, a reliable signal is a necessity.
“It’s hardly a positive for the tourist industry too.
“I hope it gets resolved quickly.”
Damaged Ethernet cable could be cause
Blairgowrie and Glens councillor Bob Brawn, who lives in the area and also runs the Bridge of Cally shop, believes the problem has been caused by a damaged Ethernet cable that links mobile phone masts.
Mr Brawn says the trees that were blocking access have now been cleared, and EE should be able to enter the site and make the repairs.
He said: “I have no doubt that after the recent storms there has been much damage to the network, but residents have been without this service for over five weeks and there seems to have been no communication in place to advise them of the status of repairs.”
John Swinney, the SNP MSP for Perthshire North and deputy first minister, says the length of the outage is “clearly unacceptable”.
He says he wants the idea of using temporary telescopic telecom towers, in the event of future outages, to be investigated.
An EE spokesperson said: “Following the recent storms, we have been working with Forestry and Land Scotland to access our mobile mast site which covers the Kirkmichael area.
“Fallen trees have meant permission was not available to access the site.
“The safety of our colleagues is a key priority and we’re very sorry for the loss of service, we realise this is frustrating and we’re working as fast as we can.
“We expect to gain access this week to investigate any damage to our network so we can restore 4G to the area.”
