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Business owners in a popular Yorkshire market town have reported that tourists are “activity avoiding it” after the town became a “black hole” for phone signal. Major providers O2, Three and Vodafone have all been cut off in Hebden Bridge after a phone mast was removed. It has caused panic among local businesses in the area, many of whom rely on internet coverage and phone calls. O2, Three and Vodafone have said they are working on a solution and it is not known when it will be solved, with unconfirmed rumours suggesting the problem could persist well into 2026. The mast was removed at the behest of the landowner. Nearby town Mytholmroyd has also been affected, Yorkshire Live reports. Local businesses have been left in a state of confusion and have claimed there has been “no communication” from Calderdale Council on the matter. Join the Manchester Evening News WhatsApp group HERE One restaurant owner reported that many visitors were now actively avoiding Hebden due to the loss of signal. A pub manager also added he now has to regularly break away from work to travel home to deal with important yet simple tasks like staff payroll, and expressed concern over other business’ card machines not working. Meanwhile a gift shop has said they had to turn away customers reliant on their phones to make purchases. Ozkan Dogan, manager of Mediterranean restaurant Aya Sophia, in Bridge Gate, is worried his business may not survive with trade severely impacted. Ozkan said: "There is no signal in town. Trade has been so down in the last couple of weeks because of this. I feel worried about it, it's 1pm and we only have five people in the restaurant, and one customer. "It's affected us because people don't want to come to town, they don't want to come to restaurants because they will lose signal. If I'm going out for a meal and have the kids at home, I need to be able to contact them." The manager of Old Gate Bar and Restaurant, who didn't wish to be named, uses his mobile phone for many of the businesses' dealings. He now has to travel all the way home to deal with simple routine matters that would have previously taken him minutes. He says door to door, it takes up hours of his time when he's needed at the pub. He said: "A lot of accounts and payroll situation stuff is done with a text authorisation code with my banking apps. When I'm making bank statements, for the staff on the payroll, I have to authorise it via text message which means I have to drive home to do the wages and then drive back to work." The pub manager added that simply missing important calls has also caused issues for him. He said: "It causes problems and I get home at 1am and I have to deal with three or four voicemails and send out emails at ridiculous-o'clock." He added: "The biggest problem is the lack of communication. Like, I've literally heard nothing from any phone provider or the council. All I'm getting it the rumour mill from people telling me it'll be December, January, February or as late as July. You have no idea what to believe." The pub manager is relieved it hasn't affected his card machines but is worried about the other independent businesses across the town who may be affected by this issue. Gift shop Tall Poppies, on Market Street, posted on social media: "Just a heads up there is still no phone signal for Vodafone or 02 in the centre of Hebden and nothing yet to say when it will be fixed, yesterday was busy and a few people couldn't pay because they only had their phones on them and couldn't pay at one of the car parks and in some of the shops due to no network signal. We don't have open WiFi so, please be aware when visiting Hebden Bridge this weekend." Local woman Faye Blosse, 39, from Todmorden, was heading to an important appointment in Hebden and it caused difficulties in locating and booking parking. Faye said: "I had heard that there was a problem with the signal but I had no idea how bad it was until I crossed over the line into Hebden Bridge and my phone went completely blank of signal. "I was running late for an appointment and had no clue where I was supposed to be - usually I would use Google Maps but this didn't work so I had to ask an elderly lady for directions. "Once I parked up, I then went to use my phone to pay but alas - no signal again! I ended up having to find a free spot, which is virtually impossible to find in Hebden at the best of times, and hop foot it to my appointment with a minute to spare. If anything, it made me realise how reliant I am on my phone. "Considering I only live down the road in Todmorden, I find it very strange that a town like Hebden, which is so popular, can just be left in the dark until 2026. Tourists must be completely lost when getting here because we're so reliant on the internet for information nowadays. The problem needs to be fixed and fast." O2, Three and Vodafone issued statements about the signal problems. An O2 spokesperson said: "We apologise to customers in the Hebden Bridge area who may be experiencing issues with their mobile service after a mast in the region was recently removed at the landlord's request. We're working urgently to install a new site and, in the meantime, to put a temporary solution in place to minimise disruption for customers. "We'd recommend customers ensure they have Wi-Fi calling enabled on their device so they're able to make and receive calls and text messages over any broadband network." A spokesperson for Three and Vodafone said: "We're aware of a disruption to mobile coverage in parts of Hebden Bridge and Mytholmroyd. The local mast serving the area, which is managed by our infrastructure partner, is currently unavailable after the landlord requested the mast to be removed. We're very sorry to customers who are affected. "Our engineers are actively working to optimise network performance on nearby sites in the surrounding areas. Longer term, we're working with our infrastructure partner on options to restore full service for the area as quickly as possible." A Calderdale Council spokesperson said: "We understand the impact that the mobile phone signal outage is having on our local community.We have checked all our services and taken action to make sure we can continue to deliver them, especially relating to children's and adults' safeguarding. "Alongside the local MP, we are making strong representations to the phone companies and the Government Department for Science, Innovation and Technology on behalf of local people and businesses, given the ongoing disruption they are experiencing." For more of today's top stories, click here.
