HUNDREDS of homes were plunged into darkness and dozens of Christmas partygoers were left without a dinner following a power cut in Chippenham on Thursday night.

The power cut began at 7.10pm and 4,000 customers were affected.

Derry Hill, Pewsham and parts of Chippenham suffered and although most of the homes had power restored within an hour some 100 homes in the Wood Lane and London Road area were left in the dark until 9.50pm.

The Old Lane pub in Lodge Road was left without power for 55 minutes. The pub was hosting a quiz night and a party and had Christmas meals booked.

Landlady Vicky Kennedy said at least 60 people were inside the Old Lane and dinners were being cooked as the power went off.

She said: "People had to wait for their dinner but fortunately the customers were understanding."

One concerned resident, Gareth Evans, of Hardens Mead, blamed an overload on an outdated power line.

"It's old cable and it's not up to the job," he said. "They just keep patching it up.

"We have Christmas coming up and how do we know we won't have another power cut then? It could mean that people could be in danger of losing out on their Christmas dinner."

"A spokesman for Southern Electric said: "There was a problem with an underground cable. The situation will be investigated."