DULOCH residents have hit out at the state their streets have been left in after recent work by Virgin Media to install fibre optic internet cables.

As well as bad workmanship, locals say they are fed up of Virgin Media vans constantly blocking paths while one householder said he even saw a workman urinating at the side of his van.

One Fieldfare View resident contacted the Press after becoming increasingly angered about his lack of progress in trying to get Virgin Media to put his street back to normal.

“In short, our community pathways and roads have been ripped up, destroyed and reinstated with the poorest level of workmanship I have ever seen,” he said.

“I have spoken with Fife Council’s transportation department and directly with Virgin. My next step will be to contact the local MP.

“We had no prior notices saying there were going to be some roadworks or disruptions and we did nothing to say we wanted Virgin Media.

"They have come in and their contractors have carved the pavements up to put fibre optic in and left the street looking terrible. 

“I had been away and when I came back I couldn’t believe the state of the path and there was oil spilt everywhere as well. 

“They have damaged my grass and have left the pavement in a state. We had a beautiful street, now it is absolutely horrendous. I try not to look at it when I come into the street.” 

Plover Crescent resident Craig Roxburgh was equally unhappy at the lack of consultation before work started.

“They just turned up and started digging up the road,” he explained.

“I work backshift and couldn’t even get the car out of the drive. 

“Because some of it is mono-blocked and some is grass, they took the grass up and where they have put it back it is all mud. It looks a bit amateurish to be honest.

“Another guy came back to do the mono-blocking and that has been done well.”

Mr Roxburgh also expressed concerns about the lack of respect shown by the contractors – especially after he spotted one of them urinating at the side of his van.

“It was about 20 minutes before the primary schools come out. That’s not acceptable,” he added.

Childminder Kym Dent, who lives in nearby Priorwood Drive, said work in her street was carried out before Christmas.

“It still resembles a dump,” she said. “The paths themselves are an absolute eyesore.

"They have dug along the very middle of them and it’s all patchy.

“With it being a main school route it is also very dangerous with all the vans. You cannot see round them and they are parked up on the side of the roads.”

Ian Jones, lead professional for roads network management in South Fife, confirmed that Fife Council had requested that Virgin Media carry out some remedial work in the Duloch area. 

He added: “In the vast majority of cases, work is carried out to the required standard but we have identified some issues in the area that we would like Virgin Media to address.”

A Virgin Media spokesperson said they were currently expanding its network in Dunfermline to bring ultrafast broadband speeds to more homes and businesses in the area.

“As we do so, we endeavour to minimise disruption to the local community and work with our contractors and the local authorities to ensure that work is carried out with professionalism and at the highest standard,” he said.

“In the case of Fieldfare View and Plover Crescent, we apologise to the local residents for any inconvenience we may have caused and are working with them to address their concerns.”