Defiant pensioner in sit-in protest over 30ft broadband poles outside her home

Dot Bolton, 75, refused to move despite warnings she could have been arrested. She and her husband Brian are unhappy with Connexin’s plans to erect timber broadband poles outside their home in Sutton-on-Hull, east Hull.

The poles will carry overhead wires, which Dot and other residents fear will obstruct access on their suburban road.

Dot sat on a chair outside her bungalow when contractors arrived today, Hull Live reports.

The pensioner said: “I feel that strongly about this cause, I am not moving.”

But a spokeswoman for Humberside Police said: “Officers were called to attend Ramsgate Close, Hull at 11am today following reports of an incident. One woman has been reported for a public order offence.”

Dot was finally moved earlier this afternoon.

A representative from the contractor SCD said: “We don’t want Dot to get arrested at all and Connexin won’t come down because I think they were scared off by residents on Monday. We’re just here to do a job and feel in the middle at the moment.”

Connexin said it had been following the “correct process” during the current roll-out programme. 

In a statement, it said: “We are building a new, full-fibre network in Hull to give residents more choice of broadband providers.

“The technology will bring huge benefits to local families and businesses, while also creating a fairer and more competitive marketplace in the city during a time where rising household bills are a hot topic. It is recognised by Ofcom that residents in Hull pay higher prices for their broadband than the rest of the UK.

“We have had thousands of residents pre-register and sign up for the service, with hundreds of installs taking place each month. We understand that some residents live in areas with ‘service strips’, instead of footpaths. These strips at the front of their properties are for housing utility infrastructure and form part of the public highway.

“Some residents have built fences, planted hedges or furnished this strip meaning it is not feasible for us to dig underground without causing major disruption. We strive to select and site our infrastructure sensitively, balancing this with the need to bring local broadband competition.

“All network providers follow a statutory process to install telecoms infrastructure on public land. The correct process has been followed for the erection of any telegraph poles, and they are legally sited on the public highway.”