Northampton substations fire leaves homes without power

The fire burnt out the two substations on Semilong Road, Northampton, on Thursday evening

Twelve people were evacuated from their homes and left without power after a fire at two electricity substations.

The single blaze in Semilong Road, Northampton, started at about 21:15 BST on Thursday night, Northamptonshire Fire Service said.

Western Power Distribution (WPD) said 4,831 homes were without power for a few minutes and about 300 were still affected at about 08:00.

The fire service said the cause was an electrical accident.

People in the area said they could smell burning plastic

Josh Lister, who lives close to the substations, said: "The whole street was very curious and worried. It smelt bad - a melting plastic smell.

"I was on the phone and the power went off in the house and the street, but it was back on at 06:25."

People in the area were asked to keep their windows and doors closed.

A spokesman for WPD said power was interrupted to 4,831 homes and electricity was restored to 3,500 after two and a half minutes.

A low voltage cable fault meant 339 homes were still without power at Friday breakfast time, but the firm was working to restore power to the remaining homes.

Firefighters sprayed water on nearby buildings to protect them

Fire crews from across Northampton attended the fire, along with police