A FORMER Weymouth man spoke this morning of the day New York stood still in one of the biggest power cuts ever to hit the States.

James Macey, whose parents Bernie and Sue and brother Alex still live in the resort, was working 15 floors up at Bloombergs in Manhattan when the power went down on Thursday afternoon.

Speaking from his home in Brooklyn, Mr Macey, 25, said: "Shortly after 4.10pm the lights in our building in midtown went blank, computers powered down. The first reaction of everyone was 'spooky.' This view lasted for about five minutes when people began getting nervous after calls were placed that gave more information.

"Other boroughs of New York were out, other parts of New York state were also down. I could see in the eyes of people that something had gone wrong. With people still very much on edge after 9/11 anything out of the ordinary is now cause for concern," said the former Wey Valley School and Weymouth College student.

After leaving the office he said the reality of what had happened began to sink in.

"The streets of midtown Manhattan were chaotic, the pavements were flooded with people, streets were in gridlock due to lack of traffic lights and the air filled with the sound of wailing sirens."

James, who moved to New York in 2000, said after trying to get home to Brooklyn for more than two hours he and his fiance Melissa decided to try and walk home.

"We joined the tens of thousands of people who were walking over the Brooklyn Bridge in the in-bound road lane.

"Words cannot describe what this was like. Looking behind us at Manhattan we saw not the normal amazing skyline but one silhouetted against the moonlit sky. Traffic was not moving, ambulances could not reach their destinations and just thousands and thousands of New Yorkers were walking to their homes.

"Several hours later we reached our street in Park Slope in Brooklyn. With all lights out, we could not see more than one foot away.

"Groups of people were gathering having a beer on the street and car drivers had their cars on the pavement flooding pizza shops with light so their customers could order. People were stumbling around but we made it home at 10.30pm almost six hours after power went out."

"It was a once in a lifetime experience - I hope."