A COUNCIL has apologised for a fault to its telephone system which often led to callers being cut off.

However, Teesdale District Council says normal service has resumed.

The problem came to light on June 9 and council officers said they have found it as frustrating as the callers have.

The fault has been traced to a problem with the Barnard Castle telephone grid system and repairs have been done.

Helen Finnimore, the head of the council's ICT and E-Government, said: "The suppliers of our telephone system found it difficult to pinpoint where the fault lay.

"We're as pleased as anyone that the problem has now been sorted and while we apologise for any inconvenience it may have caused, we can honestly say it wasn't our fault."

Council leader Ken Robinson said he would have been surprised if the fault had been traced to the authority's telephone system as it had recently been praised by Government efficiency watchdogs as having improved access to services.

He added: "Customer service is extremely important to us and we did everything we could to identify the problem and put it right.

"We deeply regret the length of time it took to resolve and the impact it had."