CALLS are being made to vastly improve the mobile phone network in Cumbria, after it was revealed the county had the most miles of road in England without any coverage.

A study by the RAC Foundation found that Cumbria has 296 miles of road without any mobile signal, the fourth worst in the UK.

Some 5,540 miles of road nationally - representing about two per cent of the network - do not have coverage for calls from any of the country’s four mobile networks, the RAC Foundation found.

The top 10 local authorities most affected include the Highlands, with 910 miles, Powys in Wales with 411 miles and Argyll & Bute, with 388 miles, and Cumbria with 296 miles.

Dumfries and Galloway was fifth on the list with 266 miles of road network without a signal.

Paul Mooney, a driver with Beacon Taxis in Penrith, says lack of mobile signal in rural areas can be an issue.

“When you go out towards Bampton there’s no reception for example,” he said.

“If you go to Glenridding to pick somebody up and you can’t find them, you can’t ring back to the office. Even if you could get the customer’s number you couldn’t ring them.”

Mr Mooney, 56, who has been a taxi driver for more than two years, said safety is also a crucial issue when it comes to mobile signal.

“There’s a lot of school runs out that way too,” he added. “If a car was to break down with children in the car that could be a major problem. You couldn’t leave the children in the car to go and find signal.

“I certainly think there needs to be something done, especially from a safety point of view.”

The study found a further 44,368 miles of road have only partial voice coverage, with not all operators providing a signal. This is 18 per cent of all roads.

Motorists who rely on their smartphones to access the internet for route planning and to check for congestion could get into difficulty on 5,452 miles of road with a complete absence of 3G coverage.

The Country Land and Business Association (CLA), which represents landowners and businesses in rural communities, also highlights the need for action in improving mobile phone signal, in particular for businesses.

Libby Bateman, from the Cumbria branch of the CLA, said: “Improving mobile phone coverage across the countryside has clear benefits to rural businesses, consumers and mobile operators. It is only by working together that the most meaningful improvements will be delivered.

“Many rural communities have been abandoned by the mobile network operators who will only make investments in the countryside when forced to do so. Ofcom must demand more and challenge this reluctance to invest in rural areas.”