An urgent meeting has been called with electricity bosses after the fifth power cut to hit Braintree in recent weeks.

Post offices and business in Braintree town centre were blacked out at 9.30am today.

The post office and a section of the Quadrant department store in George Yard were affected. It was the latest in a line of recent power cuts and comes just three days after 4,000 homes and businesses were plunged into darkness on Friday morning.

A spokesman for 24seven said Friday's power cuts were caused by two faults with underground cables, thought to be in the Stisted area.

He said: "If you get a fault in an underground cable, particularly, it tends to stress the whole system and that stressing tends to find weak areas and get a rash of faults.

"I think it is fair to say the faults are independent and unrelated, but if there are weak areas in the system and it had previous faults it could have brought them to light."

Steve Palfrey, of Braintree shoe repairers, key cutting and engraving shop ESR Services, was unable to do any work when the High Street business was plunged into darkness.

He said he could have lost about £200 in trade if the blackout had continued for most of the day.

He added: "It's getting to be constant around here. I can't do anything. All I can do is sit there and take in shoes and give out shoes, but I can't do any work."

Published Monday January 14, 2002