NEARLY 400 homes were left without electricity in Bexleyheath yesterday after workman damaged underground cabling.

Buildings across the town lost electricity just after 3pm, some reportedly for about 20 minutes, with engineer work continuing late into the night.

The blackout even affected The Mall Bexleyheath, where power went off for about two minutes.

A spokesman for EDF energy said: “Power was interrupted to several thousand customers in Bexleyheath after a third party damaged one of our underground cables.

“EDF Energy Networks engineers managed to restore supplies to all but 395 customers within eight minutes. Work continued throughout the evening to restore electricity supplies to the remaining customers in stages from 6.45pm, with the final restorations at 11.53pm.”

The energy company also issued a plea to contractors to avoid cutting through cables in the future.

The spokesman added: “We are committed to providing a reliable supply of electricity and, in a bid to reduce the number of power interruptions caused by contractors damaging underground cables, actively encourage any firm undertaking work to contact us in advance for advice and free cable locating maps, to help them avoid our cables.”