VILLAGERS have criticised British Telecom for taking five days to repair telephone lines after a lightning strike.

People in Copeland Row, in Evenwood, Teesdale, County Durham, have been told they will have to wait until Monday before they will be reconnected.

Residents say the lack of communications could prove costly in an emergency.

Telephone lines went dead at about 5.30pm on Wednesday, during a storm.

Peter Murphy, 70, said: "There was a very, very heavy downpour and we'd been getting a few flashes of lightning and then there was a big bang and it went dead.

"My neighbour rang BT on her mobile to find out what was going on and it cost her £8 and they told her they can't do anything until next Monday.

"I know that it's not their fault, but in this day and age it's ridiculous to take five days - what happens if we need a doctor or an ambulance? Not everybody's got a mobile."

A spokesman for BT said damaged phone lines often involved a lot of repair work and five days was not an unusual amount of time.

He said residents with a mobile or a working payphone, who were affected, could contact BT to set up a call divert.

BT also pays affected customers £1-a-day for residential users and £5-a-day for businesses to cover the cost of calls that have had to be made on mobiles.

He added: "People who are elderly can be put to the front of the queue. But we can only do that if we know about their circumstances."