This phone’s for you... or maybe for him!

RESIDENTS left without phone lines for over a fortnight have now been reconnected - to the wrong numbers.

Around 350 Springhead residents were left phone-less after workmen cut through an underground cable on August 15. They were promised a quick return to full service.

But when anyone now tries to contact resident John Gardner, the phone rings in neighbour Fred Lawton’s house! When anybody calls Fred, neargy Dave Parry gets the call. John’s line is in fact still dead — as are several others in nearby streets, while other residents are also getting calls intended for their neighbours.

John, of Holcombe Close, said: “Luckily my neighbour is a nice man and said he won’t use my number.

“The same neighbour’s number is now connected to someone else’s house and I assume there’s a chain of people it is happening to. I’ve called BT... but they’re very hard to get hold of.”

A BT spokeswoman said: “The majority of people now have service but due to difficulties with jointing (attaching individual customers back on to the cable) some customers are now experiencing crossed lines and intermittent service.

“We expect all those affected to be fully restored by the end of tomorrow.”

Follow us on Twitter - @OldhamChronicle