THOUSANDS of homes are without electricity this morning following a power cut.

About 8,680 properties in Houghton-le-Spring, Hetton-le-Hole, Murton and Sunderland are affected and engineers from Northern Poergrid have been deployed to restore the supply.

The electricity distributor said power cut, caused by an unexpected problem with the cables or equipment serving the area, was reported at 10.48am.

It aims to have it will be restored by about 12.30pm.

A spokesperson said: “We are currently working hard to restore your power however we are unable to provide an accurate restoration time.

“Please call us on 105 if you have any specific questions.”

The Northern Echo:

In Newcastle, 100 properties in the Heddon-on-the-Wall area and less than ten in Arthurs Hill have been hit by separate power cuts since the early hours of this morning.

NEDL expects to have them fixed by 2.30pm and 12noon respectively.

For the latest information or to report a power cut visit northernpowergrid.com/power-cuts