Work is currently underway to repair a fibre optic cable in Kirkwall during the construction of a new hospital by the contractor.

Facilities at Orkney Island Council (OIC) have been severely affected following the incident in the Junction Road area.

The council is currently unable to access itscomputer networks.

These include:

Burray, Dounby, Firth, Glaitness, Hope, Orphir, Shapinsay, Stenness, Stromness primary schools, North Walls junior high school and Stromness Academy. St Rognvald’s House, Smiddybrae and St Peter’s care homes.

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The Warehouse Buildings in Stromness. There is no public WiFi or internet access on the public computers. Card payments can be made in person, or by telephone, at customer services in Kirkwall, and payments by cash or cheque can continue to be made in Stromness.

Hayley Green, OIC's Head of IT and Facilities, said: "This is a very serious incident for the Council and we have invoked the organisation's major emergency plan.

"A range of contingency plans have been put in place and everyone involved is working hard to resolve matters.

"A survey of the damaged cable is taking place. Once that is completed, we’ll know how long it is likely to take for repairs to be carried out and for systems to return to normal."

(CD)