Thousands of people affected by power-cut after 'explosion' at an electricity sub-station in Harborough

Thousands of people were affected as almost 1,600 homes and businesses were blacked out in the Market Harborough area today (Tuesday) after fire erupted at an electricity sub-station.

Some 1,584 properties and businesses were hit in the widespread power-cut after an “explosion” and blaze broke out just before 4am today.

Firefighters dashed to the burning sub-station on Andrew Macdonald Close, off St Mary’s Road, Market Harborough, at 3.55am.

The Market Harborough crew were called by residents who “reported hearing an explosion and seeing sparks coming from the building”, said Western Power Distribution.

The blaze involved a transformer unit and was quickly tackled by firefighters.

The incident blacked out 1,584 homes and businesses in parts of Market Harborough, Desborough and some surrounding villages.

The explosion and fire are now being investigated by Western Power Distribution technical experts.

"There was a cable fault within the sub-station site and we are investigating the cause of this.

"The majority of customers had their electricity restored within 39 minutes and all were back on supply within an hour,” said a Western Power Distribution spokeswoman.

"We apologise for the inconvenience this caused and have a team on-site at the moment to investigate and make the necessary repairs."