A MAN has expressed his relief after having his broadband and landline restored after 41 days, but many are still in the dark as to when they can expect the return of their services.

Matthew Martin and fellow residents of Cartmel Fell were left without internet and phone service after the catastrophic damage caused by Storm Arwen in November.

Mr Martin’s internet was restored on Wednesday thanks to a temporary network while further work is carried out by Openreach.

However, many residents in the area are still without and Mr Martin branded Openreach’s response as ‘abysmal’ and that the communication from the company had been ‘poor’.

“It’s a real relief,” he said.

“But some properties here have not got that yet, they are still off.

“It’s been a very very frustrating 41 days.

“My neighbour had a message today apologising and saying there was still significant work to be done, cable replacements required, and we’ll be with you on January 12.

“What does that mean for us?

“It’s still very difficult.

“The lack of coordination after this length of time in this country, it seems staggering that we could be in that situation.”

An Openreach spokesman said engineers were ‘working hard’ to fix the remaining damage, but that there are still 12 new telegraph poles that need to be installed in the Cartmel Fell area.

“Following the unprecedented damage caused by Storm Arwen we’re still dealing with a small number of issues in this area but our engineers are working hard and have made good progress,” said the spokesman.

“Wherever possible, we install a temporary network to get people re-connected while we complete the permanent repair, but this is not always possible.

“A huge amount of work has already taken place, but there are still 12 new telegraph poles that need to be installed.

“We’re hoping to get this work completed as quickly as possible and we’re in touch with communities directly to keep them updated on the latest progress.”