Fury over blackout (From Gazette Series)

Fury over blackout

ANGRY traders are seeking compensation after parts of Dursley were plunged into darkness on Wednesday.

An underground power cable developed a fault at approximately 8.30am, leaving homes, shops and offices in and around the town centre without electricity and telephone lines.

Areas affected included Long Street, parts of Parsonage Street and Kingshill Road where the petrol station was closed to customers.

Pedestrian crossing lights by the swimming pool were not working nor were the traffic lights at the junction of May Lane and Parsonage Street.

Many businesses were unable to open their doors to customers at what is their busiest time of the year.

Naomi Stanley, owner of Naomi's Caf in Parsonage Street, said the power cut would dramatically cut the caf's takings for the day.

She said: "The power has been out since we got here. The morning is the busiest time for us so we are losing a lot of business for hot breakfasts and drinks.

"We have been told it could be out until lunchtime. If that is the case we are going to lose a lot of money. It is pointless opening until this afternoon, which is when it is quiet for us.

"Are we going to get compensation for this? We can't afford to lose half a days takings so we will be contacting the electricity company for compensation."

Jan Buffrey, from Hewitts in Parsonage Street, said: "Some shops went out and others haven't. We were without power for about 45 minutes but it came back on again."

Peter Broomhall, of Broomhall's Butchers in Parsonage Street, said: "It is a nuisance for us. The power cut will be bad for business today. The shops that do have power are on a different circuit to us."

Jonathan Smith, spokesman for power supplier Central Networks, said: "The power went off at 8.19am and affected 2,000 homes in the GL11 postcode area. The power cut was caused by an underground cable fault.

"We were able to get everybody affected back on by 10am by changing them to a different circuit.

"We have got a detector van going to the area to try and detect where the fault is - the van has sensors on the bottom to find a fault.

"We apologise to all our customers for any inconvenience."