A MAN has been charged with drink-driving after a car collided with a town centre telephone exchange box, which wiped out local phone and internet connections.

The collision in Beaufort Square, Chepstow, near the Superdrug store on Saturday, May 18, happened in the early hours of the morning.

A Gwent Police spokeswoman said: “At approximately 2.20am on Saturday, May 18, Gwent Police were called to reports of a single-vehicle road traffic collision on Beaufort Square, Chepstow.

“The collision involved a Fiat 500 which was believed to leave the road and collide with a telephone exchange box.

“A 23-year-old man from Chepstow was arrested at the scene and has been charged with driving while over the prescribed limit of alcohol.”

The damage to the phone exchange box caused connection problems for 125 homes in the Chepstow area, said an Openreach spokesman.

“One of our roadside cabinets was badly damaged on Beaufort Square in Chepstow after being struck by a car on Saturday,” he said. “The damaged cabinet needed to be replaced and our engineers have been working hard to reconnect the 125 customers that lost service as a result.

“Our engineers have now completed this complex work and service has been restored but we would urge any customers that may be experiencing on-going issues to contact their provider so that we can investigate further.”