AN elderly man is forced to store his medication in cool boxes on an estate plagued by weekly power cuts.

He is one of a number of residents living in the Leopard Hill ward who have been put through regular power cuts for over year with no end in sight.

Seb James, deputy chair for Worcester Conservatives, said: "I was out canvassing when I met a group who lived on Copsewood Avenue and the surrounding streets.

"They told me that they had been experiencing power cuts every week or so for the last 12 to 18 months and no one really knows what to do about it.

"The blackouts are lasting anywhere from 30 minutes to a number of hours."

The power cuts are hampering the everyday lives of people living in the area.

Mr James said: "One elderly man keeps his medication in the fridge and, every time there is a blackout, he has to take it out and put it into a cool box.

"I'm absolutely outraged that residents have to live with electrical insecurity in the 21st century and we can't be leaving families with rolling blackouts.

A spokesperson for the National Grid said: "There have been five recorded high voltage outages affecting this street over the past twelve months.

"Most of these were under three minutes in duration.

"Naturally, we are sorry for the inconvenience caused by this."

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The spokesperson also explained that any other outages were the result of the independent distributor Last Mile Group.

Mr James said: "I don't want to make it about party lines but I would be disappointed if this issue hasn't been picked up by local politicians.

Andrew Cross, Worcester City Councillor for Leopard Hill, said: "I know people have previously mentioned having blackouts but I'm not aware of it disproportionately affecting them. 

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"I haven't seen any reports saying it's affecting residents more here than in other parts of the city, but I am happy to act on it if it is brought to my attention."

Sarah Murray, Worcester City Councillor for St Nicholas, said: "I have seen a few Facebook posts about power cuts in Leopard Hill, but I am not aware of any in my ward."

Last Mile Group did not respond to a request for a comment before our deadline.