VULNERABLE council tenants living in the borough's most southerly point were left without lighting or heating twice in three days.

Power cuts on Saturday and Monday affected residents living bungalows and flats near the Ealing border in Silverdale Close, Northolt, whose properties do not have a gas supply and many of whom are disabled.

They discovered the electricity had failed at 3.15pm and the supply was not reconnected until 10.45pm but it cut off again just two days later on Monday.

Shivering tenants were plunged into darkness and were unable to heat their homes, meaning some felt they had no choice but to climb into bed to keep warm.

A spokeswoman for UK Power Networks, which maintains the electricity infrastructure, said: “This group of 66 customers were among the several thousand people whose power was interrupted on December 4 when a car crashed into a substation, damaging the high voltage electricity network.

“We brought in generators as a temporary measure to restore their power quickly, while repair work continued on site.

“Regrettably two of the generators later developed problems, on Saturday December 18 and Monday December 20, and we worked with our contractor to get replacements arranged.

“The heavy snow made it difficult to transport new generators to site but they were installed in the early hours of Sunday, and by 8.45am on Tuesday, respectively.

“We are committed to providing customers with a safe and reliable supply of electricity, and intend to return them to the normal network as soon as possible.”

n Were you affected by the blackout? Call Ian Proctor on 07795 811230 or e-mail ianproctor@trinitysouth.co.uk