ALMOST 400 people were left without power after fire broke out in an electrical transformer at Harrowbeer Lane, Yelverton on Saturday evening.

Yelverton Fire Station attended the scene after receiving a report of an electric pole on fire just after 6pm. An electrical engineer from Western Power Distribution also arrived.

Fire officers sealed off the road as a precautionary measure and had to increase the size of the safety zone, as the pole began to arc and explode giving rise to what firefighters described as a 'pyrotechnic display.'

The fire was extinguished using a high pressure hose reel.

Local resident Peter Bond said: 'The electricity cable and junction box on the pole suddenly started cracking, sparking, flaming and smoking. It was very dramatic,'

A spokesperson for Western Power Distribution said the fire affected the electrical supply to 377 customers in Harrowbeer Lane and surrounding area.

'The customers had to be fed from an alternative supply and 231 of them had power again by 7pm,' she said. 'The remainder were back on again by 8.15pm.'

She added the fire was caused by a fault in the transformer and this was being investigated.