Residents are fuming at ongoing mobile phone signal issues in central Lancaster.
Many customers have been suffering no or poor mobile phone connectivity across large parts of the city for a considerable length of time.
An O2 website response says: “Sorry, a phone mast close to you isn’t working. Our site has been vandalised.
"Our engineers are working to fix the issue as quickly as possible. While we do this, you might have some trouble with your calls, texts and data. We’re working as fast as we can. We’ll update you by Friday 25th July 2025."
Cat Smith, MP for Lancaster & Wyre, said this was "particularly troubling" as the issue is close to the Royal Lancaster Infirmary.
Ms Smith said she had raised the problem as a priority.
Paul Fisher, Lancaster resident and Beyond Radio presenter (below), is one of the residents affected by the problems.
"I find it almost impossible to get a useable 4G signal where I live in central Lancaster," he said.
"For example, I need a mobile signal to start my EV car charging and I find this very difficult to do currently.
"We are receiving virtually no service, but paying for it."
An O2 spokesperson said: “We apologise to customers in the area who may be experiencing intermittent issues with their services.
"Unfortunately, following vandalism and theft, a mast in the area is currently out of service.
"Our infrastructure partner Vodafone, which manages the site, is aware of the problem and working as quickly as possible to resolve.”
Beyond Radio understands that the site where the mast is located has been repeatedly vandalised with equipment also being stolen, and that Vodafone is in discussions with the site provider to resolve this and ensure the area is more secure.
We have also contacted Vodafone for comment.
Ms Smith said on Thursday: "A phone mast is down in Lancaster. I've asked for this to be fixed urgently and I'm encouraging people to seek compensation.
"I've asked for this to be fixed urgently and I'm encouraging people to seek compensation.
"The outage is covering the a huge amount of the central Lancaster area, so please visit my site to see how you can check your postcode and complete a form requesting compensation.
"We've seen this delay and slow action before with the Supaskips mast vandalism then fire in 2023.
"Businesses in the city rely on good connectivity to serve the community, whilst consumers need to stay connected with their families and friends and get on with the basics like booking health appointments, banking, and keeping on top of all of the essential life admin.
"Frustratingly, as a country we are far behind in our mobile infrastructure. Recent data shows that Britain ranks 22nd out of 25 European countries for data download speeds, with British users getting 5G signal about 10 per cent of the time compared with over 40 per cent in India.
"The government are considering planning changes to build more masts under permitted development rights, and I will look closely at any updates on proposals for better connectivity.
"This case is particularly troubling in light of the proximity to the hospital. A lack of service both in the residential area as well as in-and-around the hospital, nearby GP surgery and pharmacy risks affecting patients and potentially even their care, as some services may be reliant upon the mobile phone network, for example ambulances accessing records on-the-go and handing over patient care on transfer to hospital.
"I am proud to have repeatedly campaigned to improve signal in the Lancaster and Wyre area.
"Residents in the Marsh area may recall in 2023 the saga with the A1 Supa Skips site, with hundreds of tonnes of environmental waste on the Lune Industrial Estate going up in flames.
Below, the aftermath of the fire.
"I challenged O2 months prior to the fire to fix the masts, and following the fire to find a new place for phone masts, and supported over 100 residents who were customers of O2 to make complaints to the company and seek compensation.
"I hope that Virgin Media O2 will manage to quickly resolve the issue facing residents in Lancaster and around the hospital."
If you are a customer affected by this issue, you can check your signal for your postcode HERE.
Read more: More pain for Lancaster mobile phone users as signal problems persist following fire - Beyond Radio
Lancaster MP welcomes return of mobile phone coverage - Beyond Radio
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