Furious residents have slammed broadband works on their road after they were left trapped inside their home for hours.
People living on a residential street in Clydebank, Scotland, were stuck after workers from CityFibre fenced off the pavement right outside their doors without warning.
Those in Barns Street, Whitecrook, had their homes cordoned off with plastic barriers while broadband workers dug a trench.
Edward Coyle, who lives on the street, had to abandon his plans to go out to the shops as he couldn't make it to his car.
Mr Coyle said others in the area faced the same problems, the Daily Record reports.
"I was planning to use the car to go to the shops so this has put that on hold," the 67-year-old explained.
"But the family next door have three disabled kids and they had a nightmare trying to get the kids out to the car to go to nursery. They just had to break through the barriers in the end.
"Cityfibre obviously decided they were just doing this today and that they were going to barrier the whole pavement off. There was nothing to warn us, no leaflets or anything. Nobody in the whole scheme has had any kind of warning."
Neighbour James Jackson, 53, revealed it's not only being trapped in their houses which is a problem.
He said the noise pollution from the works is a "pain in the butt" and they've heard "clattering" as early as 8am.
He said: "Everyone is having to park in the next street across because they can't get parked outside. It's been happening all over. They're yards from the roundabout up the street and it's causing a lot of hassle.
"I suppose it's got to be done but with a bit of warning it could have been managed better."
Mr Coyle added: "They should have at least dropped a wee leaflet through the door to say there might be slight disruption. Some of my neighbours have only just realised what's happening and they don't know what to do.
"I phoned up CityFibre and lodged a complaint and they said they would try to get back to me in a week.
"A little consideration would have gone a long way."
CityFibre is rolling out ultrafast gigabit broadband in cities across Scotland, including Glasgow, Dundee, Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Inverness and Stirling.
Engineering firm IMS Scotland is carrying out the Clydebank works, which will see cables laid in shallow trenches in the pavement before being covered up. A CityFibre announcement last year promised "as little disruption as possible" to residents.
David Cannon, the firm's area manager for Clydebank, said: “We always endeavour to inform the community well ahead of work starting, including sending advance notice letters which were issued to residents in Barns Street. When we learned of the concerns raised by residents in Barns Street, we investigated the site and can confirm the appropriate access routes have been restored.
"We would like to reassure residents that our team will always be happy to move barriers to enable resident access when asked. We are grateful for the continued support we’ve received from the local community and ask that they continue to bear with us while we deliver these essential works."
