RESIDENTS of a Wrexham village on the outskirts of Whitchurch are pleading for a back-up battery to ensure they no longer lose mobile coverage.

Bronington, off the A495, has one mobile mast in New Hall Lane that serves customers mainly with Vodafone and O2, but according to Jayne McCall, who works from home in the village, it has stopped working three times since August.

She says that other people in the village rely on the mast working effectively on a consistent basis for their everyday lives, and has urged the companies to ensure there is a back-up for any power failures.

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She said: “We have a mobile phone mast in the village which I believe is owned by Vodafone and is leased to O2.

“They represent the only decent mobile phone networks in the village, so you can understand the frustration when the mast frequently goes down.

“This is now the third time since August ­– August 2-19 for three weeks; October 19-23 and is ongoing from December 9.

“The problem now is that most landline providers are forcing people to move from copper lines to Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) which requires an electrical supply for it to work.

"This means we have no way of making an emergency call when there is a power cut in the village, for which we have many.

“Generally a power outage to the village takes out the mast for many days. I believe that the mast should at least have a battery backup so it doesn’t go down when there is a power cut.

“However, it is virtually impossible to get to speak to anyone at either mobile phone operator. My work mobile is Vodafone and my personal mobile is Giff Gaff (O2).

“I rely on my work mobile for work. I work in IT and am required to work from home.

“My friend in the village has complex medical needs and is regularly contacted by the hospital for short-notice appointments.

“Currently the hospital has no way of getting hold of her on her mobile and her husband has to drive to Whitchurch to get a signal to pick up voicemails.

“I have other friends who rely on their mobile to run their business and are missing vital calls from potential customers.”

An O2 spokesperson confirmed the mast was loaned from Vodafone.

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They added: “We apologise to any customers who may be experiencing service issues in the Bronington area.

“Our infrastructure partner, Vodafone, is aware of the network issues and is working to restore services as soon as possible.”

Vodafone were contacted for comment.