RESIDENTS around Erleigh Road were left without power for hours after a fire broke out under the pavement.
Shortly after 8pm on Tuesday, March 12, residents began to report on social media that flames were protruding from under the drain covers on the corner of De Beauvoir Road and Erleigh Road.
Firefighters and Thames Valley Police officers attended the scene to deal with the incident, with some residents reporting power outages until the early hours of Wednesday, March 13.
An electrical fire had ignited under a manhole cover, and the incident was handed over to Scottish and Souther Electricity after being dealt with by emergency services.
The statement from Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service reads: “At 7:17pm on Tuesday, 12 March, we received reports of a fire below ground on De Beauvoir Road in Reading.
“A Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service crew from Wokingham Road Fire Station was sent to the scene.
“Upon arrival, firefighters discovered and extinguished an electrical fire under a manhole cover before handing the scene over to Scottish and Southern Electricity.
“The crew was at the scene for approximately one hour and 45 minutes.”
