AN EIGHT-year battle to secure faster broadband for an Oxfordshire village has still not been resolved, despite a cabinet being installed more than nine months ago.

Villagers in West Hagbourne, near Didcot, are waiting to enjoy the same superfast fibre broadband as much of the rest of the county but the box that will unlock higher speeds is sitting unused.

Openreach has offered a number of excuses for the delays, according to villagers, who say the 'sorry saga' is prohibiting people from setting up businesses.

The delays mean that residents have to rely on a connection from the neighbouring village of Upton, which is slowing down speeds as the cables have to travel further.

Some are stuck on the old ADSL connection, first launched in 2000, which they say struggles to load web pages and streaming services including the BBC's iPlayer.

Parish Councillor Hugh Lewis said: “It feels like we are on a delayed train where everyone else is prioritised before us and we just keep getting more and more behind.

"We continue to get put to the end of the list. I can only think there is no incentive for them to do the job. In the meantime we are paying fibre optic prices for ADSL speeds of as low as 3mb."

Last week the Better Broadband for Oxfordshire partnership announced superfast broadband coverage had reached 95 per cent in South Oxfordshire with 74,000 homes and businesses connected across the county.

Local councils along with BT and the Government have spent more than £10million connecting rural communities so they can access broadband speeds of more than 24 megabits per second.

West Hagbourne, which has a population of around 265, first started to campaign for faster speeds in 2010 and had almost given up hope when their fibre cabinet finally arrived in July last year.

At this stage many householders applied to transfer their connection in anticipation of its imminent arrival and have found they have been put on slower speeds as the wait goes on.

Mr Lewis added: "We thought it was looking promising but since its gone in, it's just sat there.

"We were told there was a blockage in the cables then that they didn't have the right equipment and we still have no idea when it is going to be turned on.

"It is ridiculous."

Resident Steve Carr said the village was ‘limping along’ on slow speeds and was tired of ‘empty promises'.

He added: “To us it is just frustrating but if we were trying to run a business in the village, as I know some are, then it would be real problem.”

Openreach spokeswoman Emma Tennant conceded installing broadband in the village had been a 'complex process' but assured residents it will soon be done.

She said: “Work to bring superfast broadband to the 80 premises in West Hagbourne has been a complex process but we’re nearing completion and if everything goes to plan, people will be able to order an upgrade from May 8 onwards."