THE lights went out in Bude on Monday night at around 11.17pm after a piece of equipment failed at the Stratton sub-station.

A Western Power spokesman said the problem affected approximately 11,000 customers, who were without power for a short space of time.

Customers in Stratton were most badly affected, and they were without power from 11.17pm to 11.56pm.

There were also short interruptions in Morwen­stow and Clovelly while the repair work was carried out.

The spokesman said that an investigation had not yet been carried out, as the top priority is getting people's

supply back. However, it is believed that the fault occurred due to a failure in a piece of equipment, which was possibly damaged in recent lightning.

They added that there was no explosion, but customers may have seen some 'arching,' which looks like lightning. However, there were no safety hazards in and around the sub-station.

A resident of Bude contacted the 'Post' and said their electricity power was intermittent throughout the night.