'Loud bang' and 'blue flash' seen as electricity cables come down in north Shropshire town - residents without power
A street in a north Shropshire town had to be cordoned off during the early hours after several power cables had come down.
Residents on Christ Church Lane in Market Drayton described hearing a "loud bang" and a "brilliant blue flash".
The Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service was called to the incident at around 3.45am (July 25).
Firefighters arrived to find overhead power cables that had come down and were lying across entrances to six properties - in hedgerows and across street lights.
Market Drayton Fire Station said approximately 100 metres of cabling was down.
A cordon was established, and Christ Church Lane was closed in both directions.
A power company was called to the scene, and electrical supplies were isolated to ensure that the downed cables "no longer presented a hazard".
At 8.15am, National Grid said 91 properties in the Christ Church Lane area of Market Drayton were without power.
The power company expects power to be restored to properties by 11am.
A post by Market Drayton Fire Station said: "At 3.46am, the rescue pump from Market Drayton was mobilised by fire control to reports of live electrical cables having come down in Christ Church Lane in Market Drayton.
"On arrival at the scene the crew were met by members of the public who informed them that there had been a loud bang and a brilliant blue flash.
"On investigating it was established that overhead power cables had come down and were lying across the entrances to six domestic properties, in hedgerows and across street lights over approximately a 100 metre distance.
"The crew established a safety exclusion zone and closed Christ Church Lane in both directions whilst awaiting the arrival of engineers from the National Grid, due to the possibility of the downed cables still being live.
"Engineers from the National Grid arrived on scene approximately one hour after a request was made for them to attend. The engineers attended a local substation and isolated the power to the area to ensure the downed cables no longer presented a hazard.
"Once confirmation had been received that the power was isolated the incident was handed over to the National Grid and the appliance returned to home station.
"There is expected to be power outages in the area for sometime whilst the damage is assessed and repairs are carried out. Engineers from the National Grid should be on scene, but if you have any questions about the power outage please ring 105 for emergency information."
