Fire causes power cut
Parts of Oswestry were brought to a standstill today after a fire in underground electricity cables caused a power cut affecting up to 1,200 premises in the town centre.
Shops and banks were forced to close their doors or offer limited services as the buildings were left without power. Premises in Church Street and Bailey Street were the worst affected.
They remained without power for most of the morning.
The incident happened just after 9am as the majority of shops and banks were opening for business.
A spokeswoman for Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service said they received the 999 call at about 9.10am.
Two appliances from Oswestry attended the scene and the fire involved underground electrical ducting.
She said the stop call was received at 9.32am and the incident had been left in the hands of Scottish Power.
A spokeswoman for Scottish Power said this morning: "We are working on it at the moment and hope to get everyone back on as soon as possible." She added that up to 1,200 customers had been affected.
Shops affected on Church Street included Church Street Pharmacy, Bakers Oven, WHSmith and Newlook, while HSBC suffered electrical flickering.
Barclays Bank, also on Church Street, was completely without power, which meant customers could not withdraw money from cash machines.
But Betty Edwards, branch manager, said they were remaining open to provide a limited service.
The power cut was set to cause major problems at Nyhan Butchers, with staff fearing the possible loss of stock.
Owner Sean Nyhan said: "There was a slight vibration underground and there was smoke coming up. The power has gone off completely.
"It is going to be a bit of a disaster.
"We have got to get a generator in to keep the fridges going so we are just waiting for the electrician."
On Bailey Street, Woolworths, Card Outlet, Jessops and Max Spielman were among those who had to close their doors.
A spokeswoman for West Mercia Police said they were called to the scene and closed Church Street while the fire service was in attendance.
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