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‘Several thousand properties’ are said to have been affected by a major power outage in East Sussex – and homes are still without electricity this evening (Sunday, January 22).

East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service said it was called to a fire in Eastbourne around 7.15am. Firefighters from Eastbourne and Seaford responded to ‘reports of an electricity box on fire’, which was ‘causing an electricity outage’.

UK Power Networks said an underground electricity cable faulted on its high voltage network, ‘causing an area wide power cut’. They said staff were working to restore power ‘as quickly and as safely as possible’.

Meanwhile, an outage in Seaford has been put down a faulty piece of equipment which ‘controls the power to your home’.

UK Power Networks said an underground electricity cable faulted on its high voltage network in the Eastbourne area, ‘causing an area wide power cut’. They said staff were working to restore power ‘as quickly and as safely as possible’.

As of 1.30pm, engineers were able to divert electricity around the faulty part of the network, ‘restoring power to further properties’. Power was restored to further supplies by 3pm by ‘remotely diverting power.

By this time, 235 properties were still affected as the network damage was 'more significant than first thought'.

In a text message update to customers, a spokesperson said: “Today's power cut was an unexpected network fault that affected several thousand properties, so I'm sorry that we weren't able to provide you with prior notice. I'm pleased to report our staff have resolved this by diverting power and connecting temporary generators to get your lights back on as soon as possible.”

As of 5pm, UK Power Networks was made aware that ‘not all power has been restored to the area’.

"Our engineers are working on this now and are still aiming to have you back on between 6.30 and 7.30pm.”

However, by 7.30pm, power is still out for some people – with no timescale showing on the website.

A text message update read: “Your power is affected by an emergency isolation our engineers have carried out for safety. At this stage we don't have an estimated time for power to be on. As soon as we're able to provide a timeframe, we'll let you know.”

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Eastbourne and Seaford power cuts: State of play as homes still without electricity 12 hours after original fault