Engineers take five days to repair fault in electricity cable

A power cut hit Uckfield on Friday because of a fault in an underground cable.

The electricity went off at 9.41 for 855 people in the Manor Park area. Engineers restored power to 388 customers nearly an hour later and 272 more about 20 minutes after that.

The remaining 195 customers were without electricity until 3pm when a generator was installed.

That generator was in action for five more days before the fault was repaired. Customers were restored to the permanent distribution network yesterday at 1.10pm.

An EDF Energy spokesman said: "It is standard practice, when a repair cannot be completed quickly or alternative circuits are unavailable, for generators to be used so customers can have supplies as soon as possible."

The spokesman added repairing the cable involved an extensive excavation. "We appreciate how difficult it can be to lose power and would like to apologise for the inconvenience caused by this incident."

It was the second time in two months that the Manor Park and Hempstead Fields area had been affected by a power cut. A generator was used on the previous occasion too.

There was also a power cut in Ridgewood at the beginning of August and a temporary generator was used there while more work was carried out.

The EDF Energy Network's power cut helpline is 0800 783 8866. Their spokesman said customers had several options when they called, including automated messages with information for their area or speaking to a call taker.