Coastguard cut off

A BT transmission network fault shut down Shetland’s coastguard communications system forcing nine officers to listen out for emergencies using radio sets on hill tops for five hours.

The Lerwick coastguard station first realised there was a fault at around 10.30am, when the aerials at Saxa Vord, on Unst, Collafirth, Compass Head and Fitful Head were knocked out.

Four teams of two coastguard officers along with sector manager John Webster spent until 3.30pm at Saxa Vord, Collafirth, Scousburgh Hill and Fair Isle monitoring the emergency Channel 16 before the fault was fixed.

A BT spokesman apologised for the inconvenience, explaining there was a transmission failure on the radio link between Portmahomack, by the Dornoch Firth, and Thrumster, south of Wick.

Telephone and broadband traffic to Shetland was unaffected by the fault, and the coastguard circuits were re-routed.