A double power failure affected thousands of homes on an estate and people were forced to get the candles out.

Residents living around the Godinton Park estate found their supply cut off yesterday night at 5.35pm and some were left without electricity for almost two hours. The blackout affected 1449 customers and power supply was restored in two phases.

This followed a similar power failure in the area on Saturday morning involving 985 customers with most residents having their power restored by lunchtime, but a minority having to wait until the early evening before being reconnected.

A spokesman for UK Power Networks said a problem with an underground cable was to blame and confirmed: “Power was interrupted to customers on Saturday (February 28) and Wednesday (March 4) as a result of the fault.

“Our engineers have worked hard to find the fault and we would like to reassure our customers that permanent repairs will now be made to ensure electricity supplies remain reliable.

“We realise how difficult it can be to be without power and apologise for any inconvenience.”