A RESTAURANT has lost around £6,000 after six lengthy power cuts which were thought to have been caused by children vandalising a back-up generator.

Diners at The Edge in Bournemouth’s Alum Chine were plunged into darkness on six consecutive nights following the St Jude storm which battered the southern part of the UK on October 28.

Each power cut lasted for around an hour-and-a-half and customers were served free bread and wine by candlelight to keep them entertained.

Manager Georgina Newbery said: “We have lost thousands because of all the tables we had to cancel and a lot of food in the freezers had to be thrown out.

“Most of the customers were very understanding and we gave them free wine by candlelight.

“Some people stuck it out and said it was like camping.

“The power went down on my very first night working there, I had absolutely no clue what was going on.

“It was also quite scary when the lights went for several hours on Halloween.”

The Edge forms part of residential apartment block Studland Dene which overlooks the sweeping Dorset coastline.

A resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “It was incredibly disruptive because the lights and water would go off for several hours at a time.

“We have been told it may have been caused by children playing around with the back-up generator.”

A spokesperson for Southern Electric said: “A generator was provided to help supply customers following a fault which occurred on October 28.

“This generator could have been affected by vandalism but we cannot confirm this for certain.

“A replacement generator was installed on Sunday, November 3, which is less susceptible to interference. We would like to apologise to all the customers who were affected.”