Residents were unable to contact the council’s emergency phoneline on Bank Holiday Monday while their street was flooding.
On Monday, January 3, anyone who attempted to contact Caerphilly County Borough Council on its out of hours number was met with an answerphone message.
Blackwood town councillor George Edwards described the situation as “ludicrous” and said residents living on Cwm Gelli Villas in Blackwood deserve a formal apology from the council.
Mr Edwards added: “It is imperative that residents can get hold of somebody in an emergency. It does not matter whether it is a bank holiday – it is a 365-day-a-year service.”
County councillor Kevin Etheridge, Leader of the Independent Group, has written to the council’s chief executive, Christina Harrhy, demanding the council investigate the issue.
Cllr Etheridge, who represents the Blackwood ward, said: “What concerns me is that residents with an emergency were not able to contact the council.”
A spokesperson for the council said: “A fault was reported on the emergency out of hours phone line at approximately 2.30pm on bank holiday Monday, the team were made aware and the service was restored at 5pm.
“This was an isolated incident and we are working with the external provider to ensure this doesn’t happen in the future.”
More information on who to contact if you are experiencing floods can be found here.
