AROUND 600 homes and businesses in Huntingdon were plunged into darkness during an hour-long power cut this afternoon.

The power cut, affected around 40 businesses in the town centre, including The Hunts Post, Barclays, Sainsbury’s and Wilkinson. Shoppers were forced to leave their shopping and exit buildings until power could be restored.

The incident was caused by an underground high voltage fault said energy suppliers UK Power Networks.

Power was restored to 250 homes within minutes of the shut-down, but 350 premises had to wait until 4.15pm to get back up and running.