SEVERAL people were frustrated when they tried to get through to Taunton Deane Council over the four-day Easter holiday.

Technical problems with phone lines into Deane House meant callers seeking information on waste collections and details of the council's out-of-hours emergency services were met by an engaged tone.

As a result, they were unable to access the Customer Services and the Housing and Council Tax Benefits advice lines.

The fault, caused by an outage, affected lines from Friday morning until 7.40am on Tuesday.

A spokeswoman said: "The council would like to apologise to customers and those with inquiries who encountered problems and for any inconvenience caused."

*People can contact Taunton Deane Council by clicking on the link below or by calling 01823-356356.

Customers requiring information on Housing and Council Tax Benefit should contact 01823-356321 or 01823-356322.