EMERGENCY services and electrical engineers were called to a Barrow street yesterday after reports of an explosion.

Cumbria Police were called to Oxford Street at 10.25am following the incident outside Victoria Park Hotel.

One eyewitness heard a bang while passing through the area and saw water shooting up from the area around the hotel.

Oxford Road was closed for an hour while the situation was initially dealt with.

Some residents in the area had been left with no electricity for hours.

One Victoria Avenue resident said: “I am not sure what has happened but my electricity went off at around 9am and hasn’t come back on since.

“It is a bit of a pain as I am working from home.”

Another resident said: “We have heard from neighbours that there was a small explosion.

“There was supposedly water firing out of the drain onto the road.”

Engineers from Electricity North West worked hard throughout the morning and into the afternoon to return power to the residents.

Victoria Avenue was shut while they repaired cable under the surface.

Cordons were placed at the scene by Cumbria Police to allow the fire service and ENW to investigate the issue.

The company stressed that the incident was not an explosion but rather a fault caused by a third-party causing a power cut.

No injuries were reported.

A spokesperson for Electricity North West said: “A power cut, caused by a third party damaging an underground electricity cable, caused the loss of power to 27 properties in Barrow this morning (yesterday) at 9:44am.

“Engineers are on site carrying out the necessary repairs and aim to restore power to all properties as quickly and as safely as possible.

“If anyone needs any more information during a power cut, they can follow Electricity North West on Twitter or Facebook for updates, or call us free on 105.”

A police spokesman said: "Police were contacted at 10:25am to a report of an explosion on Oxford Street, Barrow.

"No injuries have been reported."