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Update: Virgin Media has confirmed that its paid-for television service has been restored for customers across the UK. For hours yesterday, viewers with the latest TV 360, or previous TV V6 and TiVo set-top boxes were left unable to watch anything. Live terrestrial channels were inaccessible, as well as on-demand and catch-up shows and films. However, customer service representatives from Virgin Media have confirmed that the dreaded Error Code V53 should be gone for all customers nationwide. Sharing the good news on Twitter, they wrote: "We sincerely apologise for the issues with our TV service yesterday. Customers can now use their TV services as usual."

When asked by one viewer whether the outage yesterday, which started from around 11am and lasted most of the day, would qualify for compensation from their next bill, Virgin Media delivered a blow. The support team, posting from the official company Twitter, revealed that: "This doesn't come under the automatic compensation policy."

The original article follows below...

We sincerely apologise for the issues with our TV service yesterday. Customers can now use their TV services as usual.

Can't watch live television or catch up via your Virgin Media TV 360 box? Don't worry, it's not you.

Virgin Media engineers are working "flat out" to try to resolve the ongoing issues plaguing those with Virgin Media TV 360, TV V6, or a TiVO box to watch live channels and on-demand movies and boxsets. Switching on a Virgin Media-owned set-top box at the moment will only load an error message, code V53, on-screen with no sign of terrestrial channels or paid-for extras, like Sky Showcase, Sky Sports, or others. Despite being offline since around 11am this morning, Virgin Media has not confirmed when a fix will be ready.

Sharing the latest update from the official social media account on Twitter, a spokesperson has posted: "Our engineers are working flat out to fix this asap but we currently we do not have a precise completion time. We are working towards having this resolved this afternoon. We thank you for your patience"

When the colossal outage first struck, the Virgin Media website also went offline. As well as a way for new customers to sign-up to Virgin Media's superfast broadband, television and pay monthly phone deals, the site also allows users to get in touch with customer service representatives to discuss issues – including a loss of service. Thankfully, the website has since resolved its issues and is now available for all customers.

Speaking to Express.co.uk, a spokesperson for Virgin Media said: "We’re aware of an issue currently affecting TV services and are working hard to resolve this as quickly as possible."

According to independent site DownDetector, which monitors the performance of websites and online services based on reports of any issues on social media, shows a huge spike from Virgin Media customers. The latest data shows that more than 17,000 Virgin Media customers are flooding Twitter and other social networks every minute to complain about problems with their Virgin Media service.

Reports of problems with Virgin Media's service started to trickle in around 11 am, according to DownDetector.

Customer service representatives have also acknowledged a fault with the television service on social media. Using the official company account on Twitter, a spokesperson for Virgin Media shared: "We’re aware of an issue currently affecting TV services and are working hard to resolve this as quickly as possible."

@virginmedia #errocode pic.twitter.com/1HWgbAolov

@virginmedia My TV down. What the hell am I paying nearly £100 a month for?

@virginmedia lol you can't watch anything..have you been hacked by any chance..the hole of the UK is down... pic.twitter.com/Hn6WoErzHc

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