§ 82. Mr. Donnellyasked the Assistant Postmaster-General whether he is aware of the damage caused to the telephone system in Pembrokeshire by the recent gale; and what emergency steps he has taken to give assistance to the post office engineers in the area by drafting in temporary assistance from other post office areas that have not been affected so severely.
§ Mr. GammansThe recent severe and prolonged gales caused very considerable damage to telephone plant over a wide area. In Wales and the South-West of England about 35,000 subscribers' lines were affected, and about 100 small exchanges were isolated for short periods. The number of subscribers affected in Pembrokeshire was about 1,300. Eighteen exchanges in the county were isolated and considerable damage was done to important cables carrying junction and trunk circuits. Many other areas were also affected so that it was not possible to draft in staff, but the repair work has progressed quickly and conditions should be back to normal by the end of this week.