A patient has raised concerns about faulty phone lines to a vital mental health service.

Chris Danes was unable to get through to the Cherry Trees Therapy Centre at St Peter’s Hospital, Maldon, for 48 hours.

The phone connection was working again last Wednesday but Mr Danes, who has been a patient since 1999, claimed it is a recurring problem.

North Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the therapy centre, did not explain why the line was not working and said it was not aware of the fault being an ongoing problem.

But Mr Danes, 53, of Mount Pleasant, Maldon, said: “This is not by any means the first time this has happened and it used to happen before the renovations to the place months ago.”