Reception on the TV sets of Ely residents has gone haywire since engineers started carrying out work ready for digital switchover.

Since February 6, residents have been reporting weak pictures, intermittent signals and a host of other problems. 
The BBC's analogue helpline has been inundated with complaints and has warned the work will continue in order to prepare the city for the day when the analogue signal is switched off and digital TV takes over.

Silver Street resident, Alison Rohda-Jones, is one of the long-suffering residents who is struggling to watch television.

She said: "We have lived here for 10 years and always had good television reception. We used to have a little television aerial on a pole in the garden and there were no problems.

"But lately, despite having a big aerial on the roof, the television has been going off. Our neighbours are also reporting the same problems."

Work is being carried out on the television transmitter at Sandy Heath in Bedfordshire and on the ground. The transmitter supplies the TV signal to Ely and its villages.

The television reception problems, which have affected all channels, have been compounded by a studio fault and essential maintenance over the last two weeks.

A BBC spokesperson said: "The work has to be done when the weather is good. Over the last week three hours' work was planned which meant intermittent signal and short shutdowns."

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