Traffic lights fail in Winchester city centre (From Hampshire Chronicle)

Traffic lights fail in Winchester city centre

9:20am Thursday 7th March 2013 in Winchester

TRAFFIC chaos hit Winchester city centre during rush hour this morning.

A power failure shut down traffic lights in Jewry Street, St Georges Street and Southgate Street at around 8.30am.

But police are manually directing traffic and no accidents have been reported.

The blackout has affected around 40 properties in Southgate Street, the High Street and Royal Oak Passage including several businesses.

Southern Electric said the power cut was caused by a faulty underground low-voltage cable but that a team of engineers were on site carrying out repairs.

A spokesman said: “We are expecting an update very soon and an estimated restoration time. We apologise to all customers affected and we would like to thank them for their patience.”

Winchester City Council is urging motorists to use caution when driving through the city.