jhorn@thekmgroup.co.uk

Christmas wasn’t very merry for some families who were left without power.

About 20 homes in Trafalgar Street, Gillingham had no electricity for part of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

While some residents took refuge with family and friends, others stayed put and endured the cold.

Clive Russell, 45, was at home with his partner and nine-year-old daughter.

He said: “We lost power at about 2am on Christmas Eve and it wasn’t back on until 2.45pm on Christmas Day. It was a bit boring because we couldn’t watch telly but we still managed to enjoy ourselves. We were lucky because we have a gas cooker so we could still cook but we had no heating so we had to wrap up warm. We ended up playing Monopoly by candlelight.”

Tracey Cullinane, 35, and her 16-year-old disabled son went to stay with her mum in Chatham.

She said: “My son has cerebral palsy and I was worried about him because we had no heating and it was so cold. My mum only lives in a tiny flat and she already had other family round but she was really pleased to have us there too so it worked out OK.”

Stewart Hill, 44, and his partner still managed to cook their Christmas dinner - but not in their own kitchen.

He said: “We took our turkey around to my sisters so we did get a Christmas dinner in the end.

“Having no power did ruin Christmas for us a bit, you were unwrapping your presents in the freezing cold with no Christmas lights on. It wasn’t very festive.”

Ian Mackinnon, 46, was due to have his family around for dinner on Christmas Day but ended up at home on his own.

He said: “I didn’t want to go out because I was worried about the freezer defrosting and flooding the flat and it wasn’t fair to have family around."

A spokesman for EDF Energy Networks said: “Power was interrupted to around 20 customers in Trafalgar Square, Gillingham at 8.10am (December 24) as a result of a fault on an underground electricity cable.

EDF Energy Networks engineers restored supplies to all customers by 4pm (December 25).

“We do appreciate how difficult it is to be without power, particularly at this time of year, and would like to apologise for the inconvenience caused.”