SHOPS and businesses were forced to limit sales to cash-only after Internet and phone lines crashed.

Last night BT was still working to restore phone lines and Internet connections to premises in Romsey town centre a week after an underground cable fault developed.

About 50 properties, shops and businesses in Latimer Street, The Hundred and Market Place were affected.

Superdrug store manager Peter Lasko said: “We’ve suffered quite a loss of business because people haven’t been able to pay by cards and a lot of customers use cards for payment. The telephone line to the pharmacy was down for a few days.”

Taxi company Samtax, by the bus station in Broadwater Road, lost three out of its four telephone lines.

Samtax’s PamPickard said: “We’ve lost a lot of trade and our drivers are not impressed. Times are bad as it is, without having the phones down.”

A BT spokesman said: “Unfortunately the work is more complex than first thought.”