FAMILIES have warned of computer chaos at the Olympics after a broadband breakdown on Portland.

Up to 600 homes were left with little or no internet access after a problem with BT lines over the weekend.

Now they have warned that it doesn’t bode well for 2012 when the island is supposed to have a super fast broadband connection for the Games.

Web designer Steve Cook, 47, who lives with wife Tracy and their two children in Greenways on Tophill, said: “It has affected a lot of people on the island.

“People’s broadband keeps dropping off.

“We have a download speed of about 3KB a second when it should be 300 KB a second. It is worse than the old dial-up days.

“We can just about get Facebook, which takes five to 10 minutes to load. I have tried to load the BBC site and it won’t work.

“Our two children of 11 and 13 are fed up with it as well.

“People are calling BT but they don’t want to know.”

Mr Cook added: “I have told BT that I will go up to their exchange and protest until they fix the problem.

“This isn’t a very good indicator for the Olympics if they can’t even sort this problem out now.

“There are a lot of irate people on Portland.”

Portland is due to get super quick broadband for the Olympics in 2012.

Dorset County Council has been among the leading campaigners to try and persuade BT to keep the capability on the island – and in the county – after the games.

Islanders said the broadband breakdown has affected customers of different internet service providers – not just those with BT – since Friday.

The Rev Chris Briggs, of the Methodist Church, said: “My provider says there is no problem that they are aware of except that a gateway serving 600 people went down, which is BT’s responsibility apparently.

“Of course there is no one to speak to at BT.

“There has been a lot of BT work on Portland over the last week.

“Maybe they have disconnected something.

“Whatever the reason it seems there are a number of people affected and, as usual, companies just shrug their shoulders.

“I guess if we were big businesses something would be done.”

Rev Briggs added: “I can just about send emails.

“It takes my computer 30 minutes to bring in three emails and even then most time out and accessing a web page is almost impossible.

“It’s basically dropped to lower than dial-up speeds. It bodes well for the Olympics doesn’t it.”

A BT spokesman said the matter was being investigated.