A SHOP fuse box burst into flames causing power cuts on Saturday morning. 11/10

Firefighters were called to EAT in North Street, next to Waterstone’s, at 2.15am.

Three crews from Preston Circus Fire Station attended the scene but had to wait for UK Power Networks to cut off the electrical supply before putting out the blaze.

The damage was contained to the fuse box and no-one was hurt.

A manhole cover in Whitehawk Road also caught alight but no-one was injured.

Firefighters were called to monitor the blaze while the company came to cut off the power supply.

A UK Power Networks spokeswoman said: “Engineers isolated the supply, affecting 18 properties. Power was restored to all properties except the shop by 5.30am. Investigations are ongoing into what caused the fire.

"The fire service also alerted us to a separate incident in Whitehawk Road after a fault on an underground cable. No power supplies were affected by the fault and engineers are on site today to investigate the cause and carry out repairs."

Fire crews were kept busy during the evening with a number of calls about flooding where they did not attend the scene but offered advice over the phone.