Communities have been plunged into darkness after 579 homes lost power in west Dorset.

The power supply cut off shortly after 11.40am.

It affected an area of west Dorset between Dorchester and Yeovil including Yetminster and Ryme Intrinseca.

Although power has been restored to 500 homes, 79 remain without power, with 39 of those in the village of Ryme Intrinseca.

A spokesman for Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks said the power cut was caused by a fault with the overhead network.

But they couldn’t confirm whether it was weather related.

She added: “We were able to get 500 homes back very quickly by switching to another supply.

“However, at the moment 79 customers are without power.

“We will get generators in for them and anticipate the power supply will be back on by 11pm tonight.”

She said 39 homes in Ryme Intriseca remain without power.

She apologised for any inconvenience caused and said that engineers are doing ‘all they can’ to resolve the issue.