Power cut affects more than 2,000

DINERS expecting a mouth-watering meal at a prestigious quayside hotel were left disappointed when a power cut put its kitchens out of action.Bosses at the four-star Salthouse Harbour Hotel on the Ipswich waterfront had to turn away up to 20 customers who had booked into its plush restaurant because the power cut meant it was unable to provide its usual full menu.

DINERS expecting a mouth-watering meal at a prestigious quayside hotel were left disappointed when a power cut put its kitchens out of action.

Bosses at the four-star Salthouse Harbour Hotel on the Ipswich waterfront had to turn away up to 20 customers who had booked into its plush restaurant because the power cut meant it was unable to provide its usual full menu.

The power cut happened at about 2pm yesterday and affected more than 2,000 properties in the town - including the hotel, which was left unable to cook or prepare food.

The hotel's deputy manager, Ben Stamp, said it had had to make desperate phone calls to customers to inform them of the situation.

"We had a power cut which meant we had no real electricity or hot water, which meant we could not do any cooking," he added.

"As a result, we only had a limited menu and we lost between 15 and 20 customers.

"There was nothing we could do about it because the power failure was caused externally. We offered some customers bookings on other nights and we even booked some in other local restaurants."

A spokesman for electricity company EDF Energy said the power cut had been caused by a defect in a high-voltage underground cable in the Fairfield Road area.

"It did affect 2,065 properties, but the majority had their power back within an hour," he said.