UP to 200 BT customers in Tavistock were without a telephone line for around a week after an underground cable was damaged recently.
The homes affected were in the Whitchurch Road and Chollacott Lane area. The fault was reported on April 2 and lines restored on April 9.
BT spokesman Jason Mann confirmed that a third party had damaged the cable, resulting in ?quite a considerable amount of work? for the telephone company.
?It was a substantial repair job ? 150 metres of underground cable had to be replaced ? and it took longer than would normally be the case to restore services.
?We apologise for the delay, but it was a considerable amount of work,? said Mr Mann.