A blaze at an electricity cabinet in Weymouth sparked a large power cut across the town.

A total of six fire crews attended the fire at a Low Voltage electricity cabinet in Melcombe Regis car park on Commercial Road at 6.58pm last night (Tuesday, November 28).

A witness described seeing the electrical box on fire.

They said: “It looked like someone was welding, the sparks were huge, and sounded like fireworks going off.”

A total of 100 buildings were affected by the blaze as they suffered a power outage. Some customers did not see power restored until just before 6am.

The traffic lights on the junction with King Street were also impacted and remained out of use and people were asked to avoid the area where possible.

The stop message - meaning the incident is under control and no further resources are required - came in at 10.56pm.

A spokesperson for Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service said: “We were called to Melcombe Regis car park on Commercial Road, Weymouth at 6.58pm yesterday (November 28), following a fire at an electricity sub-station. This caused a power cut.

“90 residential buildings and ten commercial buildings, and also affected the traffic lights on the junction with King Street.

“Three fire crews attended, two from Weymouth and one from Portland, and firefighters established a safety cordon, helped with traffic management and carried out welfare checks on local residents. Our stop was at 10.56pm, with crews leaving shortly afterwards.

“Engineers from SSE were on scene to carry out repairs.”

SSE confirmed there was a fire at a low-voltage electricity cabinet. They said all customers were safely back on supply by 5.51am this morning.

Engineers are still working to establish an exact cause for the fault.

A spokesperson for Weymouth Fire Station said: “If you have been affected by the power cut and are using candles, make sure they are extinguished when you leave the room or go to bed.”

Police were also on scene to help with traffic management.

A spokesperson for Dorset Police said: "We received a report at 7.02pm from the fire service requesting assistance as it responded to a report of a fire involving an electrical box in Commercial Road in Weymouth.

"Officers attended to assist with traffic management. The local authority was also notified as it was reported the incident resulted in the loss of power to nearby traffic lights and properties."

Police left the scene at around 11pm.