SEMILONG FIRE: Residents warned power will remain cut off until 5am Friday after huge blaze at electrical substation in busy Northampton street

Residents in vast areas of Northampton are facing the night with no power following a huge blaze at a substation in Semilong Road - near the Co-op - which started at around 9pm and was still raging at midnight.

All emergency services are currently on the scene with firefighters battling to put out the raging inferno.

Hundreds of homes have been left in darkness across NN1 and NN2 areas of town, leaving the streets in total blackout.

Western Power Distribution (WPD) had initially said power would be restored by 11pm Thursday. While some homes were connected back up, WPD has now advised residents that they will be without power until 5am Friday due to the amount of work needed to be done and the damage caused on site.

WPD apologised and said engineers were doing all they could to restore power as soon as possible.

A spokesman said: "We have a fault on the high voltage network in your area. Our engineers aim to restore power by approximately 05:00. Apologies for any inconvenience."

People living the flats behind the substation have been evacuated this evening. Residents living in surrounding areas are told to keep doors and windows closed.