A telephone company has come under fire for “abandoning” frustrated residents in six Bucks villages after upgrade work on a mast in Lane End left hundreds of homes and businesses without phone signal for four months.

O2 customers in Stokenchurch, Bolter End, Lane End, Fingest, Frieth and Ibstone have been struggling to get any signal since a phone mast went out of action in September last year.

Angry residents and business owners have now spoken out about their frustration, with some complaining the company has left them “high and dry”.

Ted Howard-Jones who farms in Ibstone said: “To rub salt into the wound, last week I got a newsletter from O2 boasting that they provide 99 per cent coverage in rural areas. 

“We’re in sight of the M40 and less than 30 miles from central London, not the highlands of Scotland, and the signal - if we get one - is awful. 

“I keep complaining, O2 send me texts saying it’s all fixed, and then the following day their ‘live status checker’ indicates there’s a mast out of action.”

Will Lacey, who runs Laceys' farm shop in Bolter End, said the signal problems are "really affecting business". 

He said: What’s really frustrating is that calls are okay for the first 5-10 seconds and then drop. O2 keep telling me they are about to fix it, but I don’t believe them anymore as it’s been going on for months and hasn’t improved”. 

Jackie Howard-Jones, also from Ibstone, runs Cholsey Farm Riding and said her business needs good signal for safety reasons.

She said: “If we have an accident out riding we need to be able to call back to base or the emergency services.  We particularly chose O2 as it had the best signal in the area, but the signal - even outdoors - is now so unreliable.”

Diane Thurman-Baker, who owns the Turville Valley Stud, added: “We have had no mobile coverage in Turville since September and it is really frustrating.”

An O2 spokesman said the mast, which is located on a water tower in Lane End, is now back in service following upgrade work to make the signal better and a reduction in service due to the closure of a mast is a “rare occurrence”.

They said: “We apologise to our customers for any inconvenience that has been caused.  We’ll be continuing to monitor our network in the area over the coming weeks.”