Worker causes blackout

A POWER cut brought parts of Oldham town centre to a standstill yesterday afternoon.

Electricity went off for just over an hour at around 1pm after a worker damaged a cable at a nearby work site, forcing Sainsbury’s to close and affecting the area surrounding King Street, Union Street and John Street.

University Campus Oldham was also affected, while passengers on the Metrolink were stranded because traffic lights at King Street failed.

In total 196 businesses and other buildings lost power, 158 of which had power restored around 1.30pm and the rest half an hour later.