A FORMER councillor has slammed a mobile phone company for effectively leaving Barnoldswick without coverage for several weeks.

Problems with mobile phone masts in and around the town have meant users found their handsets cutting out right at the beginning of a call.

And this has been happening since the start of July, according to Jennifer Purcell, a former Pendle district and Barnoldswick town councillor.

She said: "Nowadays, a mobile phone is a lifeline for many of us, so it's simply not on that this problem has not been solved in several weeks.

"My tariff means I'm paying about £30 a month to EE, yet I can't use my phone in Barnoldswick. If my husband was ill when I was out, he would not be able to contact me. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people in Barnoldswick are likely to be in the same position, as well as the town's businesses.

"I have phoned EE from my landline several times to ask what is going on, but they seem keener to sell me an upgrade for £80 than fix the problem. Many people I know have done the same. We have all had enough – they have been fobbing us off for weeks."

EE took over the network brands T-Mobile and Orange, and talks are currently going on for BT to take over the EE network in turn.

Mrs Purcell added she knew several people who had contacted EE to ask about compensation, just to be offered new deals at a cheaper start-up price or other similar incentives.

She added: "To my mind, everyone should be getting the same – we've all had weeks of the same inconvenience. Some businesses could have lost a lot of money.

"But everyone seems to have been offered something different – it just seems to be a way of getting people on to new payments."

An EE spokeswoman said: "We’re pleased to confirm that full signal has been restored in the Barnoldswick area. We apologise for the inconvenience caused to customers by these issues.”