AN electricity pole caught fire after one of its transformers exploded and set alight.

Firefighters were called out at about 6.30pm on Friday to Crosby-on-Eden where they set up a cordon around the pole and damped down the area before electrical engineers arrived on site.

The incident left 285 homes in the area without power.

A spokesman for Electricity North West said: "It was faulty transformer fixed. Normally transformers are based in substations but occasionally in rural areas they're on poles.

"The properties without power were restored in stages."

By 9pm about half were reconnected and a full restoration was completed by 11.35pm.

The line was isolated while power was restored by an alternative route on the network and full repairs are on-going.