MORE than 7,000 homes and businesses suffered a power cut in and around Bewdley.

Firefighters were called out after residents saw a blue flash on the third tier of a pylon near Grey Green Lane and Gloucester Way at about 2pm yesterday.

A spokeswoman for the electricity provider Central Networks said the majority of customers had power restored in two minutes while the rest returned within 30 minutes.

She said the company believed an electricity cable in the town had been cut through to cause the fault.

Two fire crews called to the scene left just before 4pm.