RESIDENTS of a Cotswold village have hit out at a telecoms giant over an "unacceptable" lack of phone signal in the area.

Frustrated O2 customers in Bourton-on-the-Water staged a protest on a busy Bank Holiday Monday in attempt to make the company listen to their concerns.

According to O2, "an issue" has been identified which could be causing the intermittent service and the company has apologised for the inconvenience to residents.

But Gloucestershire County Councillor Paul Hodgkinson says Bourton and nearby Cotswold villages have suffered intermittent coverage since the start of the year.

With hordes of tourists looking on, Cllr Hodgkinson led the march against alleged weeks of "non-existent" phone coverage.

Cllr Hodgkinson, who contacts O2 every day, said: "The sun rises each morning and once again there’s no phone signal.

"So, I message O2 daily asking for an update but they say the same thing – ‘we’ll get back to you when we have some news’.

"Well, this is totally unacceptable for all the customers paying for a service. It’s not only hitting residents but also the many local businesses who are now at the height of the tourist season.

"There’s a compelling message from us all – we want urgent action. We are looking to O2 to get its act together and fast."

Anouska Jones, a local mother, said she’d been with O2 ‘right from the start’ and always thought they were ‘fantastic’ until this year.

She said: "It’s just got worse and worse. The past three weeks we’ve had no signal at all. I can’t keep in touch with my child’s school.

"I’ve been paying my bill for the last 15 years and it’s just an absolute nightmare."

Poppy Fountain from Bourton Vale Equestrian Centre says it’s not only affecting businesses but for her is now an issue of safety.

She explained: "Our bosses at the Centre can’t get hold of us when we are out with ponies and horses and we can’t speak to them.

"If a horse’s shoe comes off the Centre would come out to sort the issue out, now they can’t."

Broadcaster Sean Maffett has lived in Bourton for many years and is furious with the situation.

He said: "O2 has utterly failed to provide anything resembling an acceptable service in this area for a considerable time. And it needs to do something about it – not in 48 hours or five days but now!

"It’s their responsibility to make sure the mast is working nearby."

Cllr Hodgkinson has now written formally to the Ombudsman Services for Communications and says he is expecting a quick resolution to the issue.

A spokesperson for O2 said: "We recently conducted tests in Bourton-on-the-Water to examine any service issues affecting the area and we’ve identified an issue that means some customers may experience intermittent service.

"Engineers have visited a mast and made changes to keep any disruption to voice calls to a minimum while investigations continue.

"We apologise for any inconvenience this may be causing and we’re doing all we can to restore full service as quickly as possible."