Residents on a Clydebank street have been left frustrated after being trapped in their homes for hours when broadband engineers fenced off the pavement outside their doors without warning.
Barriers were set up on Barns Street, Whitecrook, before contractors working on behalf of CityFibre began digging a trench.
Locals say they weren't notified of the works despite the broadband firm pledging to "be in touch ahead of any work starting", the Daily Record reports.
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Resident Edward Coyle said he had to abandon his plans for the day as the barriers stopped him being able to reach his car. The 67-year-old told the Record other neighbours have also been left stuck in their homes.
He said: "They dug a trench right outside the house and we can't get across. I can't actually get out to my car.
"I was planning to use the car to go to the shops so this has put that on hold. But the family next door have three disabled kids and they had a nightmare trying to get the kids out to the car to go to nursery. They just had to break through the barriers in the end.
"Cityfibre obviously decided they were just doing this today and that they were going to barrier the whole pavement off. There was nothing to warn us, no leaflets or anything. Nobody in the whole scheme has had any kind of warning."
Neighbour James Jackson, 53, added: "It's a pain in the butt. The noise pollution's a pain and they've been going by with their saws and their buckets clattering off the pavement since about 8am.
"Everyone is having to park in the next street across because they can't get parked outside. It's been happening all over. They're yards from the roundabout up the street and it's causing a lot of hassle.
"I suppose it's got to be done but with a bit of warning it could have been managed better."
CityFibre is rolling out ultrafast gigabit broadband in cities across Scotland, using independent contractors to carry out the works in Glasgow, Dundee, Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Inverness and Stirling.
Engineering firm IMS Scotland is carrying out the Clydebank works, which will see cables laid in shallow trenches in the pavement before being covered up. A CityFibre announcement last year promised "as little disruption as possible" to residents.
It's a pledge that locals say has not been met. CityFibre maintains that residents were informed in advance of the upcoming works but residents maintain no such notice arrived.
Edward added: "They should have at least dropped a wee leaflet through the door to say there might be slight disruption. Some of my neighbours have only just realised what's happening and they don't know what to do.
"I phoned up CityFibre and lodged a complaint and they said they would try to get back to me in a week.
"A little consideration would have gone a long way."
A Record reporter visited the site on Friday afternoon. Workers began opening up the barricades and placing platforms over the trenches for residents to access their homes at around 3pm, seven hours after the works began and four hours after we flagged their concerns to CityFibre bosses.
David Cannon, the firm's area manager for Clydebank, said: “We always endeavour to inform the community well ahead of work starting, including sending advance notice letters which were issued to residents in Barns Street. When we learned of the concerns raised by residents in Barns Street, we investigated the site and can confirm the appropriate access routes have been restored.
"We would like to reassure residents that our team will always be happy to move barriers to enable resident access when asked. We are grateful for the continued support we’ve received from the local community and ask that they continue to bear with us while we deliver these essential works."
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