Town left without internet after rats bite through broadband cables

The network in Tring, Hertfordshire first experienced disruption on Saturday evening

The repair necessitated rerouting 650 metres’ worth of cabling to evade disturbing the nest (Openreach)

Hundreds of customers across Hertfordshire have had their internet connection restored after rats bit through broadband cables, leaving users disconnected for almost four days.

The network in Tring, Hertfordshire first experienced disruption on Saturday evening, with engineers working “around the clock” to restore connectivity. The repair necessitated rerouting 650 metres’ worth of cabling to evade disturbing the nest, with the damage to the wires labelled a “feat that typically needs a drill.”

In the 2021 census, Tring recorded a population of 11,961. 30 miles north-west of London, the town is north of Watford.

On Wednesday afternoon, Openreach confirmed that the connection issues had been fixed, with the “vast majority” of locals back online by 2am that morning.

However, the company was criticised by locals left without broadband for days on end, with one labelling the situation “very frustrating.”

“Not sure how it can take such a big company so long to fix”, one Tring resident remarked on social media.

Elsewhere, local station Tring Radio said that “compensation has got to be coming” both for Tring and the surrounding villages. “Totally outrageous in the modern age”, the station remarked.

The company was criticised by locals left without broadband for days on end (Openreach)

On Wednesday afternoon, Openreach confirmed that the connection issues had been fixed (Openreach)

“Our network near Tring, Herts, has been fixed after some severe damage by a hungry assailant”, the firm released in a statement via X, formerly known as Twitter.

“A rodent or small mammal had managed to gnaw through our cables – a feat that typically needs a drill – leaving many customers in the area without broadband.”

“Thankfully this kind of incident is really rare, but we’re sorry to anyone affected and thank you for your patience”, it added.

“If you have any more problems with your broadband, please contact your service provider – the company you pay your bill to.”

This isn’t the first time rats have disrupted internet connection. In October 2021, approximately 1,800 homes in the Torridge area of Devon were left disconnected just one week after a prior 22-hour internet outage.

A spokesperson for Openreach said: “Since discovering the damage on Saturday evening, our engineers have been working around the clock to repair the damage.

“This effort was initially hampered because access to our underground chambers had been covered over within a private property, but once that was resolved, connectivity to the vast majority of affected customers was restored by 2:00am on Wed 2nd August.

“Our repair included rerouting 650 metres of cabling to avoid disturbing the nest, and the last few remaining services were back online by early Wednesday afternoon.

“We’ll continue to work within all relevant laws, including safety and animal welfare guidelines.

“Thankfully this kind of incident is extremely rare, but we apologise to anyone who’s been affected and we want to thank people for their patience. We must also remind anyone who continues to have problems with their broadband service after today to contact their provider – the company they pay their bill to.”