Dozens of residents have been left fuming after a series of 40ft-high "6G internet poles" appeared "out of nowhere" on their street.
Two locals, Pauline Owen, 75, and Dorothy Price, 72, are amongst those in Farnworth, Bolton, who have been left reeling at the fact that the poles - supposedly offering super-fast internet connections - were erected without their consultation.
The pair have gone on to claim that warning signs about the poles went up just a day before they were even constructed.
It is believed that the poles were constructed by a company called Internexus, with posters put up around the town advertising a company called '6G Internet'.
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Matthew Lofthouse / SWNS)Image:
Matthew Lofthouse / SWNS)Pauline has been left angry at the fact that the residents were not informed of the purpose of the poles either, adding that locals were left "suspicious" of the "shifty" and quick assembly of the poles.
She said: "I don't like the fact that they have just been put up and we didn't know what they were for and nobody explained what they are doing.
"Recently, people objected because they were trying to put up massive 5G poles on the estate, and people objected to that and then it was stopped.
"It's just a shifty way of doing things because we've not heard anything from them but we are suspicious."
The 75-year-old said that despite the construction of them, they serve little to no purpose for the community, adding: "Once they had finished them, they put up a sign that said '6G available now' so it's very misleading because you think, well 6G is it better than 5G?
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Matthew Lofthouse / SWNS)"And I know of all the troubles we've had with the 5G.
"That panicked us more, and then when we looked into it, we saw that 6G is a trading name of a company, so you don't actually get 6G if you sign up with the company."
She continued: "It just doesn't seem right."
Meanwhile, Dorothy, who has lived in her three bedroomed 1970s semi-detached house for 20 years, described the poles as 'ridiculous'.
She said: "I think there is a lot of poles, just on our short road there is seven poles, and it just looks ridiculous.
"But the main point is that until the workmen actually turned up, we had no idea and no contact whatsoever about it."
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Matthew Lofthouse / SWNS)However, despite approaching the builders, the residents were left bewildered, adding: "Pauline actually went to speak to the workmen, which I think was the right response, and they just said that they only do the job they have been given.
"We have no information whatsoever.
"People are going out to work in the morning where things are normal, and they are coming back and outside the front of their house, is this giant pole and nobody knows anything about it."
Pauline now says that since the poles have been erected, she has been experiencing connection issues with her mobile phone and TV.
And Dorothy has been left concerned that she will not be able to use her landline - which, she says, is the only form of communication she has due to her wearing a hearing aid.
The 72-year-old said: "As I wear hearing aids, I cannot use a mobile phone as I can't hear through them.
"The only communication I have is my landline, which is connected to a telegraph pole."
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Matthew Lofthouse / SWNS)She added: "The concern is that if they disconnect the wires, that I have no form of communication as I live on my own and I'm 72.
"But because you can't get any information, it's very confusing."
Commenting on the construction of the poles, a Bolton Council spokesperson said: "A number of new telegraph poles have been installed across the borough as telecoms companies work to deliver faster broadband to homes in Bolton.
"Under a planning law known as "permitted development", the companies are allowed to install the wooden telegraph poles without first getting permission from the council.
"The poles are distinct from mobile phone or 5G towers which are significantly taller and are subject to the full planning process before installation, including consultation with local residents."
They continued to say that the poles have been built so high up because they can provide more efficient internet speeds.
The spokesperson said: "Attaching broadband cables to telegraph poles, means the companies can provide high-speed internet more efficiently without having to dig up roads, driveways or front gardens.
"The installations are part of work being undertaken by a number of communications companies to improve Bolton's digital infrastructure."
Internexus have previously been slammed for their work in other areas across the UK. Locals on Sandy Lane in Darwen have labeled the company as 'disgusting profiteers' after a 15 metre broadband pole was built directly outside a home, report Lancashire Telegraph.
And reviews of the company on Yell are far from positive, with claims from an anonymous person the internet company have made the "local area look awful".
Another person wrote: "A disgusting bunch of profiteers who stick their equipment up in front of residential properties knocking value off the property even though there are other locations on the same road that do not have houses on them.
"Then when you ring to complain you have not been notified of the installation they lie and say they dropped a leaflet through doors in houses in the area and the one belonging to the house it is being dumped outside must have been "misplaced" let's see if their directors have these things outside their own house.
"Who wants to buy a house where road works will take place every time the service is down?"
Internexus and 6G have been both contacted by The Mirror for a statement.