TELEVISIONS blew up and fridges started 'jumping' around in Northlew last Thursday when there was a massive electricity surge.
The 440-volt surge occurred while some work had been taking place on electricity lines. No-one was hurt but there was extensive damage to electric appliances.
Twenty-nine homes in the Old Orchard and The Meadows were affected, including the house where 83-year-old Dick Tanner lives.
He said: 'The first I knew was when I heard a strange noise and thought it was something happening on the footpath outside.
'When I came back inside my refrigerator was jumping up and down and my TV had stopped working. Then I found my telephone handset had gone, my computer and the heating.
'A lot of people lost more than me. In The Orchards, plugs blew out of their sockets and someone's television blew up.'
Mr Tanner said contractors were quickly on the scene to make a list of items which needed to be replaced, and on Saturday the delivery arrived, including a 32-inch Panasonic TV with which Mr Tanner was very happy.
'It was a bit of an inconvenience not having any heating or TV for a couple of days but I was in the war so I could put up with that.'
A spokesperson for Western Power said their men had been working in the vicinity and some customers' electricity supply had been switched to a generator.
'A joint on the generator failed, which caused the electricity surge. As soon as they realised, they took them off the generator,' she said.
Approximately 15 houses had had appliances affected, she added.
'Loss adjusters knocked on doors of residents within an hour to see what help they needed and everything is now in their hands,' she said.
Apologising for any inconvenience caused to the residents, the spokesperson said the incident was something that did not happen very often.