Broadband works in a village on the Lizard Peninsula have been declared “shambolic” by a couple forced to walk half a mile to their home and cancel their holiday let bookings due to the disruption.

Peter Harvey has now shared his frustrations over the Wildanet broadband installations outside his home in St Martin.

The 67-year-old claimed there had been several issues since work began in the village on Thursday morning.

He claimed that the workers arrived without any prior notice and closed off Pork Street completely, causing an issue for him and his wife as this was the only way he could access his farm and holiday lets.

Falmouth Packet: Tyre marks were left on the grass verge Tyre marks were left on the grass verge (Image: Andrea Harvey)

With the road closed off, Mr and Mrs Harvey were forced to park their vehicle in the village and walk up and down their half-mile-long driveway each time they needed to go anywhere – a concern to Mr Harvey, who has recently undergone heart surgery to have a pacemaker fitted.

He said: “It is shambolic. No ambulances, no fire engines could get down to the farm. There is no other access here.”

The couple also own a holiday let business on their land and have had to cancel and refund bookings already made.

Mr Harvey told Packet: “We have had no access to our farm. As a result, we have had to cancel guests, refund payments etc as no one is willing to drag suitcases half a mile down the lane through the disgusting mess that Wildanet have left.

“We didn’t have any notice, and if we did, we could have crossed those days off, so we wouldn’t get bad reviews.”

Falmouth Packet: Tyre marks on the grass verge leading to the property Tyre marks on the grass verge leading to the property (Image: Andrea Harvey)

Mr Harvey said that he tried to communicate with the workers on the site and also attempted to speak to someone by telephone, but claimed the first time they said they’d call back but didn’t, and the second time they hung up the phone.

According to Mr Harvey, the Wildanet workers on site had promised him that the works would be completed at the latest by last Friday afternoon, but on Monday morning work was still yet to be completed and the couple continued to have no through access to their property.

The workers subsequently appeared to have finished by Monday afternoon.

However, Mr Harvey claimed they had left an “unbelievable” mess in the village, with the landscape ripped apart. He said: “The mess is unbelievable; they had left no access for anybody to get in and out.

“They said they could put down metal plates, and it would have been fine, but they left big holes in the road.

“You can’t go out at night as the holes are like open trenches.”

Wildanet has now provided a statement regarding the allegations.

A Wildanet spokesperson said: “Where road closures occur in areas with no alternative routes we endeavour to ensure access for residents’ vehicles is maintained during works and our understanding is that arrangements were in place throughout this period in St Martin.

"We are in discussion with our contractors and have spoken with and arranged to meet the local resident to discuss his concerns and establish what happened in this case.”