63,000 properties were affected by a fault at 11.45am. Engineers were on site within a few minutes and restored power to around 12,000 customers within half an hour and a further 30,000 within the first hour.

10,000 properties are currently without power and engineers are working to restore all supplies as quickly and safely as possible.

Lightning was detected in the area earlier but the cause of the fault is currently under investigation.

Electricity North West control room manager, Sam Loukes said: “Our engineers were quickly at the site to determine the issue and start restoring supplies. It’s too early to say exactly what has caused the power cut, although we are aware of some bad weather in the area earlier. Our focus is now on restoring power to the final properties affected and ensuring that the power stays on.”

For the latest updates, please follow @ElectricityNW on Twitter or on Facebook or contact us via the national power cut number, 105.