ELDERLY residents on a Bury estate have been without a telephone line for three weeks.

And it could be a further two weeks before repair work is completed.

Pensioners on the Topping Fold estate - some of whom are unable to venture out because they are so frail - have had no contact with friends or family because of the problem.

Mrs Shirley Hughes, of Fourth Avenue, said her elderly neighbour Mrs Moira Taylor is dependant on the telephone to contact someone if she fells unwell. But she has been left without a line since October 6.

Mrs Hughes said: "Mrs Taylor has in the past used the telephone in the night to get in touch with family if she feels ill and needs a doctor. This has left her very frightened and isolated."

But a spokesman for BT insisted that customers who have experienced problems will be compensated by the company

He said: "We had an underground cable fault affecting a maximum of 50 lines. We replaced 160 metres of underground cable and the duct that it runs in.

"This work has been completed but a further 100 customer lines running along the same length have experienced the same problem and this work is being sorted out at the moment.

"However, it could be another 14 days before the repair work is finished. Customers will be entitled to compensation once the lines are repaired by dialling 151. We apologise for the problems caused and are doing all we can."