Residents who have struggled to get a good mobile phone signal in their town for three years have now learnt the issue was caused by vandalism of its local mast.

Some residents in Middleton, Greater Manchester, had assumed the lack of signal was “because it’s a hilly area”, according to local phone shop owner Ali Salam.

“If you ask 10 people about this, nine will be complaining,” he said.

Following the scale of complaints by businesses and residents, local MP Elsie Blundell said she spent “several months” investigating the problem, adding that she found: “Vandalism by a small group of people had left an entire town at risk of being disconnected and losing mobile signal.”

Damage to the mast at the top of the Warwick Mill premises in the town centre resulted in reduced coverage.

Ms Blundell said: “Obviously, I’m angry that some heartless vandals could do that to our town.

“More importantly, though, we needed to find a replacement soon to get the town working again.”

Ms Blundell said she had been “chasing the mobile companies for several months” before she met mobile infrastructure firm Cornerstone this April to “understand the problems that had been occurring with their mast on top of the mill”.

A Cornerstone spokesperson said: “We had a constructive conversation about developments currently being assessed by the local planning authority.

“Our priority is to work collaboratively and transparently with the local planning authority to meet connectivity needs in a way that respects the local environment and community.”

Some residents said they noticed the decline in coverage about three years ago, with one saying: “My boss lives in the middle of nowhere and gets a better signal than here.”

Ashley Wakefield , who lives in the town centre, added: “I’m a foster carer, so it’s a real problem for me.

“There have been times I’ve had to go into the shopping centre to use the wi-fi to get my bus pass to work. It’s super inconvenient.”

Peter Winkler said his printing business “had to set up a guest wi-fi network because the signal is so bad”.

“Prior to that we’d have to suggest leaving the shop to get a signal, which seems counter-intuitive.”