7000 houses without power in Heywood

Around 7000 houses in Heywood are without power this evening due to a fire at Egerton Street sub-station.

The fire began around 6.00pm and the fire service is still in attendance at the time of publication (7.22pm).

Eye witnesses reported brown smoke and a bang at the sub-station, and a smell of burning in the air around it. 

Updates to come...

UPDATE 9.50pm

3,500 houses have had power restored.

Estimated time for the remaining 3,500 houses to have their power restored is 9.00am in the morning (Friday 12 March).

A spokeswoman for United Utilities said: "We are pulling out all the stops and working through the night to get everyone back on."