School and homes hit in power cuts

MORE than 2,000 homes and businesses were hit by two power cuts over the past week.

Electricity North West (ENW) said 1,541 properties, including many in the Huncoat and Altham area, were without electricity from shortly before 12.30pm on Monday, June 19, following an electrical sub station fire in Altham.

Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service confirmed they were called out.

A spokesperson said: “Crews used dry powder extinguishers to put out the fire and cordoned off the area until arrival of the electricity board the incident was then left with North West Electricity to make repairs.”

Huncoat Primary School was one of the buildings affected by the power cut.

In a post on Facebook, the school said: “We are experiencing a power cut in the area. Dinners have been served and school is open as normal. Our telephone lines are currently down.”

Power was restored after four hours.

It was the second significant power outage in less than a week after residents in the Sydney Street area of Accrington were affected at around 8.20pm on Wednesday, June 14.

ENW engineers arrived at the area to carry out repairs and restored power to 592 properties by 11.25pm the same night. The problem was caused by a transformer fault at a local substation. The firm thanked customers for their support.