Four men are being quizzed by police on suspicion of intending to endanger lives after a power cut at one of Kent's main hospitals.

The arrests were made by West Midlands Police in Birmingham yesterday following the incident on Wednesday night at QEQM hospital in Margate.

The men - aged 38, 37, 35 and 26 - are being held in custody today and questioned on suspicion of causing criminal damage and intent to endanger life.

Officers are also speaking to them in relation to them allegedly conspiring to commit theft, police said.

The incident saw parts of the hospital including the emergency department lose electricity for at least four hours.

Patients were moved to operating theatres unaffected by the power cut which also saw two wards in the hospital plunged into darkness, East Kent Hospitals University Foundation Trust confirmed.

The site's contingency plan was implemented to keep patients safe until power was restored about 11pm.

The public was asked not to attend the emergency department and to keep ambulance services free for emergency life-threatening conditions.

A "full diversion" of emergency patients was initiated with eight people taken to the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford, the ambulance service said.

The QEQM was still able to take "critically ill" patients, a spokesman for EKHUFT confirmed, but no patients arrived at A&E during the outage, the trust said.

Police were called shortly after 9pm to find cables leading to the hospital had been damaged at the hospital in Ramsgate Road.

A Kent Police spokesman said: "Four arrests have been made in connection with the loss of power at a hospital in Margate.

"As part of an investigation by detectives from the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate, the four men, aged 38, 37, 35 and 26, were arrested by West Midlands Police during the afternoon of Thursday 21 February 2019 in the Birmingham area.

"The men were arrested on suspicion of criminal damage with intent to endanger life and conspiracy to commit theft, and all currently remain in custody."

The hospital's uninterrupted power supply (UPS) - an extra back-up power supply - made sure the hospital maintained power in vital areas.

Police are continuing to appeal for witnesses who can call 01843 222289 quoting 46/34099/19 or independent charity Crimestoppers in Kent anonymously on 0800 555111.