DARKNESS descended on Ormesby when the village was hit by a major power failure last night. Around 1,100 homes were affected with some residents left without heat and light for more than 12 hours.

DARKNESS descended on Ormesby when the village was hit by a major power failure last night. Around 1,100 homes were affected with some residents left without heat and light for more than 12 hours.

Electricity supplies were cut when a fault developed on an underground cable yesterday afternoon. Emergency generators were bought in to the village by energy supplier EDF and power had been restored to the majority of homes by early evening.

However, nearly 130 people were left without power throughout the night with more than eighty Hemsby Road residents not reconnected until late this morning.

It follows a previous power cut in the Ormesby area on in December when some homes were left without supplies for up to 30 hours.

Rural North Tenants and Residents Association chairman Peter Kirkpatrick, who lives in Beck Avenue, was without electricity throughout the night.

He said: “We had to use candles and a gas stove and to make matters worse it was a freezing cold night. It would not be so bad in the summer at least we could have a barbecue.

“There are a lot of elderly residents living along Beck Avenue who are particularly vulnerable to the cold. We are still waiting for compensation for the previous power cut.”

A spokesman for EDF Energy said: “Power was interrupted to 1,110 customers in the Ormesby area, when a fault developed on a high voltage underground cable. We would like to apologise for the inconvenience caused.”