Residents living in a landslip-hit community suffered fresh woe yesterday after their phone lines went down as repairs were carried out.
The incident at Gardenstown, which affected a “small number” of residents, came after work to repair a crumbling cliff face above Harbour Road began.
A telecom cable was damaged while the hillside was being assessed by council contractors.
Last night, Openreach said its engineers were assessing the situation and hoped to restore services “as soon as possible.”
A spokeswoman said: “During repairs to a landslip it appears a telecom cable has been damaged, affecting services to a small number of local customers.
“Engineers are on site now evaluating the impact and damage. We’re working to restore services as soon as possible and we’re sorry for any inconvenience meantime.”
Rope access experts were drafted in to fit a new movement monitoring system on the slope.
The initial slip happened last December and led to the closure of Harbour Road.
Colin Walleck, who lives in the lower half of the tiny community, welcomed signs of repairs and the removal of temporary road blocks from the site.
The former solider said: “They have had a machine there to take away all the hay bales.
“The concrete blocks that were on the site are being taken away and some of the residue is being cleared.
“I think a monitoring system with four or five sensors has been put on the slope and it sends information back to a monitoring van if there is any movement.
“The rope access guys were all there and they were getting ready to work on the slope.”
Last week, the council approved £2million in funding for the slips at Gardenstown and nearby Crovie, with an appeal for more cash from the Scottish Government.
Councillor Peter Argyle, chairman of the infrastructure services committee, said: “Clearly these are both extremely complicated and technical situations, demanding not only significant professional expertise but also significant sums of money.
“The council recognises the issues being faced by the communities of both Gardenstown and Crovie and we give reassurance that we are sympathetic, as well as being prepared to undertake significant engineering projects to give them peace of mind into the future.”
An Aberdeenshire Council spokesman last night said: “We are aware of the issue, which appears to be an unfortunate consequence of the delicate work taking place on the slopes.
“We hope it is resolved quickly and apologise for the inconvenience.”
