VILLAGERS in Urchfont had to endure more than 12 hours without electricity after a fault developed on high-voltage cables on Monday.

The power went off shortly before 9.30am, affecting Urchfont, Chirton, Marden and parts of Market Lavington. Most of the 1,350 homes affected had their power restored before midday but about 200 homes in Urchfont did not get power until nearly 9.45pm.

A spokesman for Southern Electric said: "Our engineers traced the fault to a sub-station at Manor Close and The Orchard in Urchfont.

"Because they were unable to locate it and fix it quickly, a mobile generator was brought in to restore power to the remaining subscribers.

"We apologise for the inconvenience caused and our engineers will continue working at the site to find the cause of the disruption."