Pensioner slams ‘comically stupid’ BT Openreach engineers for ‘plonking’ a telegraph pole at the end of his path

• Kevin Haughton, 70, didn’t look twice when he saw workmen installing the pole 
• So he was gobsmacked to see the pole planted directly at the end of his footpath
• After complaining, telecoms bosses agreed to remove the pole a month later  

A telecoms company has been slammed for ‘idiocy’ after placing a telegraph pole at the end of a pensioner’s footpath.

Kevin Haughton, 70, said he didn’t look twice when he saw workmen from BT Openreach installing the pole on March 12 in Sutton Coldfield, near Birmingham.

But when the retired policeman left his home a few hours later, he was gobsmacked to see the pole planted directly at the end of his footpath.

After complaining to Openreach, telecoms bosses agreed to remove the pole less than a month later on April 8 – reinstalling it 9ft 8ins away from its previous spot.

A telecoms company has been slammed for ‘idiocy’ after placing a telegraph pole at the end of a pensioner’s footpath (pictured)

A photograph shows where the engineers placed the pole, directly in the middle of Mr Haughton’s footpath, before it was moved again 

Mr Haughton said: ‘Openreach had been laying a cable in the area. I first saw the pole on the day they put in which was about the middle of March.

‘They arrived with a lorry full of poles and started digging. I didn’t think twice and didn’t take any notice. But some hours later when I drove off from my house I saw the full-scale of the pole.

‘They had put it at the end of a path and near the top of the steps. Anyone would have struggled to get past it! As soon as I saw it I thought it was ridiculous, it looked out of place.

‘I don’t mind having a telegraph pole as you have to put them somewhere but in the position it was in it was just ridiculous. I thought it was comical. 

After complaining to Openreach, telecoms bosses agreed to remove the pole less than a month later on April 8 – reinstalling it 9ft 8ins away from its previous spot.

‘It’s so obviously not a good place to put a telegraph pole. When they finally removed it, it was a victory for common sense. 

‘They’ve moved it three metres up the road in a northerly direction. They shouldn’t have put it in a stupid place in the first instance.’

Mr Haughton’s sister Lesley, 66, said: ‘When I first saw it I couldn’t really believe that they had done it, it seemed mad.

‘They certainly didn’t seem to be thinking about what they were doing, we’re pleased it’s been resolved. They had no conception about what it meant for my brother or anyone else.’

Openreach admitted that the telegraph pole could have been placed better.

A spokesman said: ‘We understand how frustrating this must be and we’ve arranged for the pole to be moved to the side of the footpath.

‘We are sorry for this oversight and will make sure we review how it happened.’

Mr Haughton, outside his home in Sutton Coldfield showing where the telegraph pole was originally put before it was moved

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