The headteacher of a County Durham primary school blighted by mobile data outages has said a lack of connectivity raises "real safeguarding implications".

Consett has been hit with data outages which could last until mid-December after work began on a nearby mobile mast, leaving residents unable to access 5G networks.

O2 apologised to its customers on Wednesday of last week, urging locals to switch to WiFi calling to avoid missing phone calls.

But, the headteacher of The Grove Primary School in Consett has hit out at the company, saying the lack of data has impacted the function of the school's office.

"It has real safeguarding implications for us," Bernadette Atkinson told The Northern Echo.

"Parents can't ring us to tell us their child isn't going to be in school and we can't ring

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