Kept in the dark over power cuts

Since the start of the year, Piddinghoe and parts of Peacehaven have been plagued by up to 90 hours of blackouts. Only last week the power was out for 27 hours over two days.

Chairman of Piddinghoe Parish Council Dr Mike Draisey said villagers had lost patience with electricity company Seeboard.

He said: 'If we had another supplier we would go for it. The last few months have been dogged with power cuts. As there is no gas supply here a great many rely on electricity for everything. Literally, some are left totally destitute.'

Fellow villager Valerie Mellor agreed. She said: 'Many residents are elderly and others in poor health. They are extremely vulnerable at times of power failure, especially as it usually occurs with no warning.'

One elderly resident needed 12 stitches to a cut to her head after she suffered a fall during a blackout.

Mrs Mellor added: 'The parish council and a number of people have written to Seeboard. Many more have tried to vent their anger on the telephone, which is difficult since only recorded messages are available for much of the time.'

Information given by the company on its recorded messages was often wrong and misleading, people complained. The details of areas affected regularly included Seaford and Newhaven when it was only Piddinghoe and the back of Peacehaven in darkness.

Seeboard offered its apologies for what it called a series of 'unrelated electricity supply interruptions' including lightning damage.

A spokesman said: 'The most recent of these were due to the storms which hit much of southern and central Britain at the end of October, but the company accepts that the general level of service has fallen short of expectations. It has launched an investigation of the local high voltage network to establish if improvements can be made.'