ELECTRICITY supplies to homes in streets around Thornton Road, Bradford, were lost today after an apparent malfunction involving underground cables.

It happened near the Fairweather Green fire station and crews were sent to deal with the incident, which sent smoke billowing across the area and flames leaping from the pavement.

It triggered household burglar alarms in the area as power was lost and engineers estimated supplies would not be restored before midnight.

Resident Kyle Moore, 22, who lives in nearby Bedivere Road said: "My house lost power and other streets in the area are also affected. The fire service have said the electricity will be off for some time."

A spokesman for Northern Powergrid, the region’s electricity network distributor, said around 3.35pm today an underground electrical cable developed a fault causing damage and visible flames from the pavement. No one was injured and the fire service attended to secure the area.

“Our engineers have isolated the fault so we can investigate the cause and organise a repair.

"They will be working throughout the evening to repair the underground cable and restore power for our 147 customers who are currently affected. We estimate the work will be complete by midnight tonight.

“We’re sorry for the inconvenience caused for our customers and thank them for their patience while we work to carry out the emergency repair.”