Ongoing power cuts spark outrage in Bradfield Southend

A series of power outages have struck Bradfield Southend – and residents have had enough.

One person claims to have experienced up to six power cuts since December. But power issues have lasted far longer for others.

"I was told the same as I was over 12 months ago, that a fuse spur had been cut," explained Bradfield Parish councillor Mike Ashbrook, of Cock Lane.

Mr Ashbrook says his neighbour still had power while his was out.

"Other people have been affected on Cock Lane," he added. "Because we're vulnerable, we were told we would get notification of any advance power cuts."

But his most recent outage occurred on Monday, February 6, after he had brought his wife home from hospital. The couple then suffered intermittent power issues until 9pm.

Mr Ashbrook also explained his difficulty in communicating with Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) and says a solution has not been forthcoming.

The company has since responded to the ongoing issues.

"We'd like to apologise to our customers in Bradfield Southend for the inconvenience caused by these recent power cuts, and reassure them that we're doing all we can to resolve the situation," said a spokesperson for SSEN.

"Our teams are currently investigating the cause of these interruptions and, as an interim measure, they have re-routed the affected supplies onto different sections of the wider local network.

"Once the cause has been established, permanent repairs will be carried out as soon as possible.

"In addition, over the coming months our teams will also be carrying out a programme of maintenance and inspection on the wider Reading network, as well as tree cutting to minimise the risk of branches and vegetation coming into contact with our overhead lines."

Mr Ashbrook confirmed today (Tuesday) he has not experienced any further issues since last week.

Other affected residents are invited to contact newburytoday at newsdesk@newburynews.co.uk