Phone companies put on hold the switch over for vulnerable customers after "serious incidents" (Image: Getty)

       Campaigners urged older people to refuse to give up their analogue landlines after failures in the switch over to digital services.

       Silver Voices warned problems with the new system, which can fail when there is a power cut, could leave vulnerable people without the ability to call for help.

       It said senior citizens are more prone to falls, heart attacks and strokes so rely on analogue phones in an emergency.

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       The “digital voice” programme resumed early last year after previously being halted when there were reports that some customers had been left unable to make 999 calls during stormy weather.

       But phone companies put on hold the switch over for vulnerable customers last month after "serious incidents" when some telecare personal alarm devices, which are used by nearly two million people, stopped working.

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       Silver Voices director Dennis Reed said older people should automatically be classed as vulnerable in the switch over.

       He said: “The scrapping of copper-wire landlines is developing into a full-blown scandal which politicians must address.

       “Do we have to wait for the first fatality, caused by the inability of a stricken customer to make an emergency call, before this botched programme is halted?

       “We are calling on all older and vulnerable customers to identify themselves to the telecom giants and make clear that they are withholding permission for their landlines to be cut off, on the grounds of personal safety.

       “Woe betide the telecom companies if they ignore these communications, they will then be directly liable for any consequences.”

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