TELECOM giant BT has apologised to a retired Queens Counsel from Chittoe, near Bromham, after his phone was cut off for 16 days.

Retired QC William Crowther had written to BT chairman Sir Christopher Bland, complaining not just about the way the fault was overlooked but also about the way he was treated by operators on the fault reporting helpline.

He told the Gazette: "My line went dead on Friday March 19 and I immediately reported it to the BT engineers. However, the following day a tree fell and brought down another piece of line.

"No matter how I argued with them, the engineers were convinced my problem was associated with this second fault. They fixed that one, but, of course, that didn't mend my line.

"Because my mobile doesn't work very well in this area, and because the local phone box in the village was out of commission because of the tree, I spent hours sitting in a supermarket car park, running to and from the payphone, calling the BT engineers."

After ten days without a phone, Mr Crowther fired off angry letters to the telecommunications watchdog Oftel and, finally, to Sir Christopher Bland.

He wrote to Sir Christopher: "On Monday March 29 I spent 35 minutes in the local telephone box trying to get some sense out of BT.

"I thought for a change I would try Customer Services, since there is a complaints procedure set out in the telephone book and on the back of my bills.

"I got through to a woman who said that she would investigate. She left me on hold for ten minutes after which time I assumed that she would never return to me and I hung up.

"I tried again, and got another woman, who said that faults were of no concern to her."

Speaking to a neighbour, Mr Crowther found out that workmen clearing foliage nearby had damaged a phone line close to his house.

This was before the tree fell and brought down the second line.

Mr Crowther said: "I understood that engineers had come and fixed this but they obviously botched the job, which was why we were cut off all this time. When the engineers finally came to reconnect me, they confirmed exactly that.

"If I was still working, I would sue them cross-eyed, but, as it is, I shall be demanding compensation."

A spokesman for BT confirmed that the Crowthers' line had been restored on April 4, 16 days after the fault was first reported.

He said: "We apologise for the delay. There was some confusion over the fault, and it was initially believed that the damage had been done by the fallen tree. It was later found that there was further damage. It is a most unusual case and was caused by a coincidence."

He said that BT had a customer service guarantee scheme, available through the helpline, through which subscribers can apply for compensation.