RESIDENTS at a block of flats in Fairlie have been left baffled after the remote control entry system to their car garages was mysteriously blocked.

The problem is blighting a serious of garages at a block on Causeway Court, and after checking batteries and calling out a repair company, homeowners are still no closer to an answer.

Residents Elspeth Harrison and May Mackay, pictured, have have put out an appeal to News readers to try and solve the mystery.

Elspeth said: "We suddenly experienced all of our electric garage doors not functioning.

"We have since discovered that this has been caused by something blocking the frequency use by our remote controls and wondered if anyone else in the village has had a similar problem.

"We would like to try and identify the cause. Our engineer has had to fit extra kit to allow the doors to function, which was costly."

Strangely just three out of the four garages in the block have been affected.

May added: "When my garage remote didn't work I started to get a bit concerned, then found out it wasn't isolated to just one.

"We then spoke to other residents with electric doors and three out of the four no longer worked.

"The man who installed the system came out and he said in almost 30 years in the trade he has never known anything like this. Something is blocking the signal, but he couldn't understand it at all."

Elspeth said: "I wondered if the naval exercise on the Clyde right now had anything to do with it because it is as if there is an invisible shield that is suddenly blocking all the garages along this stretch of the road.

"Or maybe somebody is tampering with the signal on purpose, we just don't know."

A manual key operation is now in place to allow the neighbours to utilise their garages but they have all had to stump up £150 each to pay for it. They say they are wary of getting a new remote control system in case the same problem occurs.

Elspeth added: "There have been some remote control problems with other devices in the block too. The remote control keys for our cars work fine, but the doors have just stopped.

"We thought we would wait a couple of days to see if whatever was blocking it would fix itself, but so far it is still the same. We are desperate to know what could be causing it."

If you can solve the mystery, of if you have been affected by the same problem, email editorial@largsnews.co.uk