OUR phones at the Review office have been red hot – if you could find one which worked – since we asked you for your stories of Vodaphone woe last week.

We had been alerted to problems in Redbrook, Staunton, Newland and Penallt so we asked if anyone else had been similarly cut-off – and the experiences came flooding in from across the Forest.

From Redbrook to Clearwell and Coleford, The Pludds and Longhope it was the same. Weeks without a mobile signal.

Businesses have been particularly badly hit, and an early caller on the subject to the Review was Annie Frost who owns the 'Memories of Home' shop at Harts Barn, Longhope. She said: "I have had no signal at the shop for twelve days now, and after I rang them three days ago, Vodafone said that there was actually 'no problem'. Then, when I called into the Vodafone shop in Gloucester they told me that it was down to mast problems. Since then I've heard nothing, and if I try and phone the customer care line they cut you off."

She added: "To get my messages I am having to drive up to Cinderford which is the nearest place I can get a signal. I've only had this contract for two months, and wish I hadn't bothered now. This company are really not being good with their customers."

Other callers told us of their own problems, including Sandra Lee from Ellwood who has not had a phone signal for three weeks, and who needs her phone to keep in contact with members of her family who are ill. She echoed the sentiments of many callers in saying that she was pleased the feature was published in the Review - since she had been baffled by her phone cutting off, and thought that hers was an isolated case.

John Palmer, a retired electrician who lives near Redbrook told us: "My wifes phone has been off for nearly a fortnight, and we have been continually fobbed off when we have tried to contact Vodafone. heir attitude is appalling when dealing with complaints and they seem to be just ignoring the problems - but they are so positive when they are selling you their phones and contracts. We are going to change networks as soon as we can, but the other providers are not so good either, O2 and Orange are hopeless."

A similar tale of woe was outlined by Clive Williams, another Longhope resident who was experiencing problems.

He said: "I went into the Vodafone shop in Gloucester and they told me that it was problems with a mast at Newent, but they couldn't say when it would be fixed. I need my mobile working at all times as my wife is disabled. This comes on top of other phone problems locally due to BT refusing to believe that cables had been laid to our bungalows."

Wendy Pegler said her mobile had not worked at home in The Pludds since before Easter -- but there is no problem at work in Cinderford.

"They can't tell you what's going on. It's terrible."

We also had readers contact us with concerns that they are unable to contact carers.

Meanwhile, Monmouth MP David Davies has pledged to take up the case of Vodaphone's network and attitude problems, by raising the matter in the House of Commons, if the problems were not sorted out in the short term.

In a statement to the Review, a Vodafone spokesman said: "We would like to apologise to our customers in parts of Monmouthshire and the Forest of Dean that have been recently affected by the loss of coverage in some parts of the local area.

"Some base stations are linked to the rest of the network using point to point radio links and we have faults with three of these that has degraded coverage in parts of the local area.

"Other sites in the area are unaffected. We have engineers at the end site, where these sites link into, and are aiming to restore full coverage to the areas as soon as possible."