Villagers’ fury over black-out bungle

Disgruntled villagers today launched a furious attack on an electricity giant after three nights of blackouts.

Dobcross residents claim problems were heightened because an emergency generator kept running out of fuel.

Problems struck the village last Tuesday, when a substation fault blacked out 223 homes and businesses at 6.45 pm. Engineers restored power with an emergency generator at 2.30am.

The blackout caused misery and at the award-winning Swan Inn, meals were off the menu.

Co-owner Tim Newbold said: “We were packed out. We had to ring customers to cancel their bookings.”

The temporary generator failed for two hours at 10.30pm on Wednesday - and again late on Saturday evening, after which it stayed off until early Sunday morning.

Villagers who complained to power supplier Electricity North-West said they were told by operators the generator had shut down because it ran out of fuel.

One villager said: “If it wasn’t so serious it would be laughable — a power company that can’t keep its own emergency kit running!”

Electricity North-West apologised to customers in Dobcross but refused to comment on the reasons for the generator shutdown. Power was expected to be restored today.