Residents in a Didcot cul-de-sac have been left fuming after phone lines were cut off without explanation.

Four houses in Oxford Crescent lost their BT landline phone connections on April 4. Southern Gas was carrying out maintenance work in the street at the time the phone lines were lost, but the company denies it was to blame.

The residents have now been told that they will be billed for line rental in April. May Pryor, 78, said: "I live on my own and anything might happen to me. I wouldn't be able to call anyone in an emergency.

"The nearest phone box is a long way to walk for someone my age."

Her neighbour Helen Williams, said: "I have had to spend £40 on my mobile already this month and we're already paying line rental."

Mother-of-one Katherine Burgoyne, 33, said: "It makes us feel very insecure without a phone. When you pay for a service from a big company, you expect them to provide that service."

BT runs a compensation scheme for customers affected by faults, but they have to wait until their phone line is restored before claiming for financial loss.

Jason Mann, from BT, said: "Of course, we are sorry. Faults are usually fixed on the next working day.

"Considerable damage was caused by a third party to 25 metres of underground cable."

It is still unclear who or what caused the problem. A spokesman for Southern Gas said: "As far as we know, this has nothing to do with any damage caused by Southern Gas."

A BT engineer visited on Tuesday, and the phone lines are expected to be fixed by the end of the week.