HOMES in Cowley left without power after last night's lightning storms should have electricity returned by early evening, suppliers say.

Some 140 homes in Cowley were hit by power cuts. Most have had their energy restored, but 20 properties are still waiting to be back on the grid. 

Southern Electric Power spokeswoman Sam O'Connor said: "The ongoing fault was down to an overhead line that was damaged.

"Once that was repaired, engineers found an additional fault on an underground line that needed work. That is why some properties won't have power restored until early evening.

"We would like to take this opportunity to apologise to our customers."

See readers' pictures of last night's lightning bolts here. 

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