Business hit by power cut
Managers at a Telford business were today counting the cost after they were left without power during one of their busiest weeks of the year.
Virgin Balloon Flights, on Stafford Park, lost lighting, heating, and access to a computer booking system and telephone network for more than four hours yesterday due to an underground cable fault.
Today, Central Networks apologised for any inconvenience caused by the power cut.
The power cut also left seven other businesses on Stafford Park without any power for more than 12 hours.
Hundreds of customers were left queuing for service as staff at Virgin Balloon Flights took calls on a mobile phone by candlelight.
Damian Brockway, managing director, said it was business as usual again today and he was proud of the way staff had rallied round. He said: "This is our busiest period of the year when we take as many as 500 calls a day.
"It is quite possible we've lost as much as £15,000 of business."
Central Networks spokeswoman Ellie King said: "We would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused to customers.
"Our engineers worked throughout the day and night to fix the problem and get power back on."
People unable to get through yesterday can now phone 0870 444 2768 or visit www.virginballoonflights.co.uk