Thousands of residents and businesses in the Tring area of Hertfordshire experienced a broadband outage after rats chewed through cables belonging to Openreach. The company confirmed that its network was affected by the rodents, which had damaged ducting, outer casing, and multiple cables—equipment that typically requires a drill to penetrate.
Openreach apologised for what it described as a 'rare' incident. Engineers worked through the night to repair the damage, but the effort was complicated because access to underground chambers had been covered over within a private property. The team had to gain entry to the ducts to replace the damaged cables before resealing them to prevent further issues.
The company stated that the 'vast majority of homes and businesses' had their connectivity restored by 02:00 BST, with the remaining few expected to be back online by late afternoon. Openreach thanked customers for their patience and assured them that all services would be fully restored.
