An explosion at an electricity sub-station left thousands of homes without electricity across Witham and surrounding villages this morning.

The fire service was called to the station, in Cut Throat Lane, Witham, at about 7am. Trevor Routledge, engineer, said: "We are not yet sure of the exact cause of the explosion, and it will be at least four to five hours before we can establish a cause.

"The building has had a history of vandalism, and so we cannot rule that out.

"There are 16 panels, each with 800 homes on each panel, so we are looking at the majority of Witham being affected, along with part of Hatfield Peverel."