The phone system in Sheerness has returned to normal following two days of chaos.

On Wednesday and Thursday, people across the town were reporting crossed lines.

Callers' communications were thrown open to the public with 76,000 lines across Kent thought to be affected.

There was a problem with the telephone exchange in Maidstone where many businesses reported problems.

Kent County Council, Maidstone Hospital and Kent Policewere all affected. Personal conversations were also overheard as crossed lines led to accidental eavesdropping.

They included Aaron making his stationery sales pitch to a client, Jill reporting how she “burnt her bum” on holiday, and Jackie checking on the results of her cholesterol tests.

One unlucky caller stumbled across a couple having a blazing row while another woman was heard blaming the chaos on "the foreigners on Talk Talk".

Hogben's funeral director's Andy Hyland said he had been talking business when he was interupted by a woman reporting her Jack Russell missing.