A crash in Burnham-On-Sea has led to disruption of Internet access for some Virgin Media customers after telecoms equipment was badly damaged.
The collision in Love Lane, on Wednesday evening (July 16th), occurred near one of Virgin Media’s roadside cabinets, causing ‘substantial technical damage’, resulting in a broadband outage to homes in the area. A bus stop was also demolished.
A spokesperson for Virgin Media told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “We’re aware that a small number of customers in Burnham-On-Sea are experiencing issues with their broadband services, due to a road traffic accident which has damaged some of our equipment.”
“Our teams are waiting for the local power company to confirm the site is safe and will then repair the damage and restore customers’ services as soon as possible. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.”
Virgin Media said its teams were standing by to begin the repair work on Thursday afternoon, but due to the scale of the damage, restoration efforts cannot begin until the site was declared safe by the local power company — a process that may take several days.
A Police spokesperson added that a man has been arrested on suspicion of a drug-driving offence following the crash. “He was taken to hospital as a precaution before being transported to custody. He has since been released under investigation. Enquiries continue.”
A spokesperson for the South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT) added: “We were called at 5.25pm on Wednesday 16th July to an incident in Burnham-On-Sea. We sent one double-crewed land ambulance to the scene.”