A teenager was taken to hospital after running into 11,000-volt power cables which had fallen in a storm.

The girl, from Clapcote Cottages, Grittleton, suffered cuts and bruises but the accident could have been fatal if the wires had still been live.

Now Southern Electric is warning people to report any fallen lines, and to keep clear.

A spokesman from Southern Electric said severe storms on Monday night caused the wires to fall from a telegraph pole.

The wires fell almost to the ground, when they either hit each other or some other object, causing them to short circuit.

"This would have looked like a flash of lightning," said the spokesman.

The girl from the nearby cottages went to investigate the noise, and walked into the wires.

Circuit breakers in the wires had cut off the current.

Chippenham firefighters attended and an ambulance took the girl to Bath's Royal United Hospital for a check up.

Leading firefighter Darren Nixon said: "The pole was on fire, with the flame on top it looked like a big candle."