NEARLY 1,500 properties across West Somerset were left without power for more than two hours during Wednesday (December 18).

Some were still without electricity by the evening, as National Grid engineers worked to restore supplies.

A snapped electricity pole near Wheddon Cross interrupted overhead power lines at 10.16 am on Wednesday morning and cut supplies for 442 properties.

A National Grid Electricity Distribution spokesperson said engineers restored supplies to 439 of the customers by 12.24 pm.

The spokesperson said: “We are working to get the remaining three customers back on supply this evening and apologise for disruption people have faced.”

Then, a power outage hit another 877 properties in Porlock the and surrounding area during the afternoon, with the supply going off at 2.38 pm and not being restored until 4.43 pm.

This time, the fault was in an electricity sub-station.

The spokesperson said: “We thank customers for their patience while repairs were carried out.”

The latest outages came just a week after thousands of West Somerset homes and businesses went six days without power in the aftermath of Storm Darragh.

People living in the Porlock Weir area and between Williton and Stogumber were among the last to have their properties reconnected to the grid, on Wednesday of last week.

Many residents lost hundreds of pounds of frozen food which had to be disposed of as their Christmas plans were thrown into disarray.

And since then, occasional power disruptions have continued to be reported by some homeowners across the area.