DOZENS of homes and businesses on the edge of the Brendon Hills were without power for more than an hour on Monday morning (July 27).

Nearly 70 properties were affected in an area around Tolland stretching from Elworthy to Brompton Ralph to Combe Florey.

High voltage power lines serving the area failed at about 8.20 am, but National Grid engineers were able to restore electricity to all customers by 9.38 am.

The outage was caused by a blown fuse, which National Grid Electricity Distribution said could occur for a number of reasons, including contact from wildlife such as birds, although it was not able to confirm the exact cause in this case.

A spokesperson told customers: “We are committed to maintaining reliable power to your community.”