Daventry resident upset over Virgin Media contractors' behaviour

One resident of Stefan Hill said she was threatened by a contractor, who she says was later dismissed, after she complained about vehicles and equipment blocking her drive.

Dawn Mundell, of Christchurch Drive, said she did not receive any information that the work was going to be carried out.

She said: “There were builders’ things on our garden and the entrance to our house was blocked.

“Our daughter has epilepsy and if she has a seizure she has to be seen by a paramedic, so I asked them not to block us in.

“When I spoke to the supervisor about it, they said because I had moved the barriers, I would be liable if anyone got hurt.

“One of the workmen put everything back on my garden and swore at me. I told him that wasn’t acceptable and asked for details of his company’s head office.”

The situation escalated and Mrs Mundell said the contractor later threatened her, took pictures of her house and said he knew where she lived.

The company behind the contractors told Mrs Mundell he had been dismissed but since then, Mrs Mundell said he has driven past her house, again making threats.

Mrs Mundell said she has been visited on a number of occasions by a Virgin liaison officer but is concerned because the works will be on-going in Daventry for months to come.

She said: “They have been digging up people’s gardens and parking on people’s plants and driveways.

“It’s their whole attitude. One of my neighbours said they couldn’t use water from her outside tap but they did anyway.

“They haven’t weighted road signs down properly so they have blown over and damaged cars.

“They burst a water pipe and because it wasn’t repaired properly, clay got into the pipe and did some damage to my neighbour’s shower.

“You wouldn’t expect a company like Virgin to let contractors act like that. We want to make people aware of what’s going on.”

A Virgin Media spokesman said: “Virgin Media is currently expanding its network in Daventry to bring ultrafast broadband speeds to more homes and businesses in the area.

“As we do so, we endeavour to minimise disruption to the local communities and work with our contractors to ensure that work is carried out with professionalism and at the highest standard.

“We apologise to the local residents for any inconvenience that these works may have caused and are working hard to address their concerns.”