Power back on after manholes blown off in fire

Power has been restored to homes and businesses after an underground fire caused manhole covers to blast off along a main road.

Flames were seen coming out of the open manholes after about four covers blew off on Ashley Road in Poole, Dorset, on Thursday at about midday.

The road was closed at its junction with Mansfield Road and Victoria Road, with a cordon put in place and people advised to avoid the area.

SSEN said about 145 properties lost their electricity supply. The energy firm said the fault had since been fixed and the power was back on by midnight.

Residents in a local Facebook group reported hearing explosions "like gunfire" as the manhole covers flew off.

The fault also cut power to the traffic lights at the junction of Ashley Road.

In a statement, the energy firm said: "SSEN apologises to its customers and thanks them for their patience while engineers worked to get power supplies back on."

The fire service said the blaze was put out shortly after 14:00.

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