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Countless Wigan library users couldn’t get online for hours either side of the weekend when the internet crashed.

The council has thanked the public for its patience while the issue, which was triggered by maintenance work last Friday (November 3), was addressed. All of the local authority’s libraries were affected until the problem was fixed at lunchtime on Monday November 6.

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One library user said: “The only access I have to the internet is the library so it was quite inconvenient not to be able to sort out my bills and suchlike. Thank goodness it’s back on now. It's a real lifeline in this day and age.”

Standish Library was one of those affected by the internet crash

A Wigan Council spokesperson said: “Following maintenance work there was an issue with the public access network in libraries which meant that computers were unavailable for a short period.

“This has now been resolved and access to the service is now fully available again to members of the public.

"We appreciate just how important digital access is within our libraries and would like to thank our residents for their patience during this time.”

The spokesperson said the internet went down at midday on Friday and was restored at 1.30pm on Monday.

Wigan library users unable to use the internet either side of the weekend

One library user said: “The only access I have to the internet is the library so it was quite inconvenient not to be able to sort out my bills and suchlike. Thank goodness it’s back on now. It's a real lifeline in this day and age.”