MORE than 1,000 homes in Colchester postcodes have been plunged into darkness after an unexpected power cut.

UK Power Networks says the outage is affecting 1,096 homes across the CO10 0, CO10 5, CO6 4, CO8 5 postcode areas.

The affected area includes Great Horkesley and villages near the Suffolk border like Stoke-by-Nayland.

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A statement on the UK Power Networks website says: “At this point we think the issue is faulty overhead equipment affecting 1,096 properties.

“Specialist engineers from our control room are also working to divert power remotely, so it's possible your power could come back on at any point.

“We can't always restore everyone this way. That's why we're also sending staff to the area to check our equipment.

“Every fault is different, so our time frames have to be estimated but currently we hope to have power back on between 1pm and 2pm.

“We must stress that it may become necessary for this to change, depending on what our engineers find.”

Several areas of Essex have been left without power as strong winds hit the county after the Met Office issued a yellow weather warning.

Power cuts have also been reported in the CO2 7 postcode area, which includes parts of Colchester city centre.