A NUMBER of homes in a Worcestershire village will temporarily lose electricity today - but residents have been assured their heating will not be affected.

Amid warnings of freezing fog, snow and low temperatures, residents in The Heath, Holt Heath, near Worcester, were concerned to receive a note from their electricity provider, which said power would be disconnected through the weekend.

Today's cuts are between 7am and 9am and 4pm and 6pm and residents feared it would disrupt their heating systems.

However, Electricity firm Central Networks said residents would not be left in the cold as the heating systems would be fully functional during the day.

It also said the majority of homes would be hooked up to generators to ensure no loss of power and spokeswoman Emily Highmore added that the remainder would not be off for the full four hours. Electricity will be back on for all houses in the area between 9am and 4pm.

Central Networks is carrying out work to divert high voltage overhead cables underground, to ensure safety on a nearby building site.

A spokesman for the electricity firm said: "We apologise for any inconvenience and accept it can be a pain, but it really is essential work.

"We have arranged for as many people as possible to have a generator and, come six o'clock, when people are back from work and cooking dinner, everything will be back on."