A Glasgow engineer has been nicknamed Openreach's Bear Grylls after he camped out on the Isle of Coll to keep remote customers connected during the coronavirus lockdown.
After a lightning strike left residents with no connection to the outside world, Scott McPartlin, from Rutherglen, set off with his tent to the Inner Hebridean island where he camped out for three days.
Upon his arrival, the dad-of-one parked his van up where he could drive no closer and made the first of several three-mile hikes over the beach to Crossapol where he conducted the lightning damage repairs.
READ MORE: Poor sick pay forcing Glasgow care staff to avoid coronavirus testing
Once completed, Scott set up camp at Feall Beach and had just settled down to watch the sunset before he got an emergency call-out from the island's surgery.
He arrived at the surgery in the pitch dark, waiting until the air ambulance arrived with a doctor on board to fix a phone fault.
He’s since been back to Coll twice to improve broadband connections for islanders.
Scott, 46, who joined Openreach six years ago after a career as an insurance broker, said: “The first customer was vulnerable, and he and his wife were self-isolating when their line got hit by lightning.
“There’s no road from the ferry to their home so it meant a long march over the beach – it was scorching and as much as Coll is stunning, it was tough going.
“Connectivity has never been more important than it is now, and I’m really happy to help.
READ MORE: 100 more homes to tackle rough sleeping beyond pandemic
"It’s no hardship as the island is incredibly beautiful and the people here are fantastic. Once they knew what I was doing, they opened up the bunkhouse for me to sleep in.
“It’ll be top of my list of places to visit out of work, once things get back to normal.”
Openreach patch manager Andy Baillie said: “Scott is a keen outdoors man and loves nothing more than spending the evening under the stars in his tent on some mountain top somewhere.
"He’s always willing to take on these challenges and the more remote and lonely the better. He’s Openreach’s very own Bear Grylls.”
Openreach engineers have been classified as key workers during the Coronavirus lockdown and are continuing to provide vital services to keep Scotland connected.
READ MORE: Emergency Universal Credit helpline launched in Glasgow - here's how to get help
Their main focus is on connections that support critical national infrastructure like the NHS, pharmacies, emergency services and food distribution outlets, vulnerable customers, and those without any service.
Work is also continuing on network upgrades where it can be carried out safely, as fast, reliable broadband will be crucial to helping Scotland recover from Covid-19 economically.
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here