Witnesses have described the moment construction workers allegedly went through a power cable in the ground which sounded 'like a bomb'.
Workers from Gigaclear were digging into the ground on Marlborough High Street on a mechanical digger when it is believed they struck a mains power cable.
Three loud 'explosions' could then be heard with people in the nearby shops reporting the lights flickering, before the power went out for most of the businesses on the High Street, and hundreds of homes in the area.
READ MORE: Marlborough without power after 'High Street power cable cut'
Simon Peter Gough, assistant manager at the RSPCA shop, said: "I was in the shop, one of my volunteers was on the till and there was a lady at the counter buying something, then all of a sudden it sounded like a bomb going off and all the lights went out.
"A few seconds later, there was another loud explosion, I walked to the open door, looked outside, and then there was another one, which I actually saw, there were sparks going up through this huge mushroom cloud of smoke."
(Image: Simon Peter Gough)
Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service attended to make the scene safe.
Shops on both sides of the High Street were left without power for several hours, including Waitrose and Greggs, the latter of which put all its food out into the street for people to take.
More than 900 homes were also affected, but Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) responded quickly and was able to re-route power from other areas.
A spokesperson said “We’d like to thank our customers in and around Marlborough High Street for their patience earlier today, as our teams worked hard to get their power back on after a third party had struck one of our underground cables.
"In situations like this, our priority is to restore our customers’ power as safely and as quickly as possible, and we were able to do this today by re-routing supplies to different parts of the network, with everyone’s power back on shortly after 12:30.”
A spokesperson for Gigaclear said: "We are aware of an incident in Marlborough that resulted in a power outtage in the High Street.
"An investigation is currently taking place to understand how the incident occurred."
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