HOMES had to be evacuated and other residents were left without power when a fire broke out after metal thieves stole electrical safety equipment from under the ground.

Residents in Alnwick, Northumberland, were affected as a result of the metal being taken from cabling.

There was an explosion under a manhole on Swansfield Park Road on Wednesday evening. Flames shot from the manhole and set fire to a nearby hedge.

Two homes were evacuated as a precaution, while the road was closed and a cordon set up around the fire. Staff from Northern Power Grid turned off the power while the fire was extinguished, affecting 176 homes and businesses at Greensfield Avenue, Meadow Riggs, Blakelaw Road, The Dunterns and Swansfield Park Road.

Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service sent two crews and the blaze was put out using carbon dioxide extinguishers and sand. Power was restored to all but three of the properties by around 2.20am yesterday.

A spokeswoman for Northern Power Grid said the company was investigating the incident.

She added that it had been established that metal equipment which protects electric cables inside the manhole had been stolen at some point in the last two years. It is believed that this allowed water to get into the cables, causing the explosion.

The thieves have been condemned for causing widespread disruption and it was claimed they had put their own lives at risk by stealing the equipment.

Northumberland area command chief superintendent Mark Dennett said: “As a result of mindless thieves, a community has had their power cut causing a great inconvenience to families, elderly people and everyone living in the area.

“Whoever has done this risked their lives to get inside at the electrical cables and they are lucky they weren’t killed.

“The offence could have happened anytime over the last two years, but enquiries will be carried out to try and find those responsible. Criminals don’t care how much trouble they cause to people’s lives or communities.”

Gordon Castle, who lives at Blakelaw Road and is county councillor for Alnwick, was among those to lose power and had to go to the assistance of an elderly lady who had fallen in her home after her lights went off.

He branded those responsible for the incident “lowlifes” and said: “The thought that this has been caused by the theft of metal is a very sad comment on the depths to which thieves would go to make a few quid.

“It must have been a pretty small amount and it has actually led to a pretty serious situation.”

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