A PERSHORE-based businessman has vowed to enlist the help of the town’s MP in a bid to get Vodafone to restore signal to local mobile users.

Derek Jarman, owner of Hayloft Plants, in Pensham, said he had been in weekly contact with the firm since September 19 when he, five directors and a number of his staff, lost coverage.

He said: “We are a seasonal business and have been reasonably lucky as this is our quiet period. Had it been in the spring this would have been a disaster. We have landlines but the irony is we are having intermittent problems with those as well.

“I have spoken to Vodafone a number of times – about once a week since the problems began – expecting the situation to get better. I was told two weeks ago they would make it a priority.

I just feel sorry for those who are housebound or trying to run a business in the run-up to Christmas, and I will ask the MP for Pershore Harriett Baldwin to see if she can’t help to get this fixed a bit quicker.”

Ms Baldwin confirmed she had contacted Vodafone this week to call for an urgent solution.

She said: “I was shocked to learn that despite many customer complaints the problem has not been fixed. I have asked for an urgent update on this situation and will be seeking a meeting with Vodafone management to discuss this.

“If it isn’t sorted soon, I will need to lodge a formal complaint with the regulator.”

Vodafone had stated in a previous Pershore Journal article that problems arose following damage to a mast which provides network coverage to the area, and that engineers had been sent to the site.

Company spokesman Jane Frapwell said this week: “There has been a link failure due to the copper degrading over time.

“We are treating this as a high priority.”