THOUSANDS of properties in the BH7 area were affected by a power cut earlier today.

The outage, reported at around 3pm, hit around 2,600 homes and businesses within the postcode.

It is reported that superstore Tesco Extra in Riverside Avenue was forced to briefly close as a result of the power cut.

Calls to the supermarket have not been returned.

A spokesperson from Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) said: "We established there was a fault on the high voltage network which was affecting a number of customers in the Winton and BH7 area.

"Our engineers have been undertaking investigations during the afternoon."

She said that just 40 buildings are still without power as of 4.45pm.

"We would like to apologise to everyone affected," she added.