IT SEEMS quite incredible that in these days of such advanced mobile technology that something as simple as tall trees can be the downfall of a mobile phone signal.

But that apparently is the situation being experienced by customers of telecoms giant Vodafone UK.

According to the company, the loss of signal experienced by customers in Cwmbran over the past three weeks is because of tall trees growing at a Christmas tree farm in the area. This left us scratching our heads a bit.

Cwmbran and the wider Gwent area is known for many things, the beauty of the local landscape, a fascinating social and industrial history among other things, but not for being home to particularly tall trees.

The suggestion was that these pesky trees may be in Wentwood Forest.

Engineers have visited at least twice over the past few days to assess the best method to reconnect the two base stations which provide coverage between Cwmbran and the rest of the network.

Of course, Vodafone could just invest in a load of Wentwood Forest Christmas trees, thereby giving the forest a bumper year and ridding the area of the problem at the same time.

Whatever Vodafone decides to do it needs to act sooner rather than later. If not, we fear the company’s increasingly angry customers will demand compensation or alternatively they will vote with their feet and opt for a different phone company.