Why BT and TalkTalk customers are suffering broadband problems in the North East on July 23

At least part of the issue appears to have been caused by a fire at a BT “local site”.

TalkTalk customers are also suffering broadband difficulties on Thursday although it is unclear yet whether the two problems are linked.

A BT spokesperson said: “We’re aware some of our customers in the Newcastle area are currently experiencing intermittent problems when trying to connect to the internet using BT broadband.

"This is due to a fire at a local site in Newcastle, which has now been contained.

"Our engineers are on site and working quickly to resolve this. We apologise to our customers for any inconvenience caused.”

A social media message posted by TalkTalk read: "We are aware of issues affecting the North East area at the moment. Engineers are looking into this and we do hope to have services restored ASAP."

In a further statement posted on the company's website, it said: "We're aware that some customers in and around the North East of England are currently experiencing a loss of service due to a break in a cable on a part of the Virgin Media network which is used to provide service in the area.

"We'd like to apologise for the inconvenience and assure you we're working with local engineers to restore service as soon as possible."

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