Apology for Christmas Day power cut in Coventry

[dutchman]

An electricity company has apologised after about 30 homes lost their electricity supplies on Christmas Day.



The homes, on Shilton Lane in Coventry, lost power for two hours at dinner time on 25 December and again from 16:00 GMT on Friday until 01:00 GMT on Saturday.

Western Power Distribution said the fault was traced to an underground cable which has now been repaired.

Resident Lorraine Wheel, who has a disabled daughter, said it was "traumatic".

She said the power went off just after her extended family got together at her sister's house next door.

The family tried to "have a party in the pitch black, but it didn't really work".

When the power went off the second time, she said her daughter's lift could not work nor her electric blanket.

"It was quite traumatic really and we've had no explanation," she said.

Western Power said the repair was permanent and supplies should be back to normal.

[dutchman]

'What happened to Blitz spirit?': Kirstie Allsopp says storm victims who spent Christmas without electricity were 'spoilt' for getting compensation

Not only is she said to be worth millions but she also has a choice of three homes to retreat to.

So Kirstie Allsopp probably should have kept quiet when it came to the subject of the misery of the Christmas storms.

The TV presenter believes victims of treacherous weather are ‘spoilt’ if they receive compensation for losing their power supply for days over the festive period.

The star of Channel 4’s Location, Location, Location bemoaned the lack of ‘Blitz spirit’ and said that billions of people around the world get by with ‘limited electricity’.

Miss Allsopp, 42, told her 331,000 followers on Twitter that she was in ‘rant mode’ as many families face a seventh night without power.

The mother-of-two wrote: ‘What on Earth has happened to Blitz spirit? #SpoiltUK... Storm winds blow, trees come down, electricity goes off, it’s not much fun, need to make contingency plans, why does this mean compensation?’

Unsurprisingly, other Twitter users were quick to hit back at her lack of sympathy.

One wrote: ‘Something tells me you were not affected?’ while another said: ‘Quite right people are just spoilt.

They’ll feel entitled to shelter, food and water next!’ Energy companies have been criticised for their slow reaction to storm damage.

Her comments ignited controversy on Twitter, with one person writing: 'Something tells me you were not affected?' while another added: 'Quite right @KirstieMAllsopp, people are just spoilt. They’ll feel entitled to shelter, food and water next!'

Another joked about the Handmade Britain presenter: 'On the bright side, these floods will help give that fabulous distressed look to furniture. #kirstyantoinette'.

One Twitter user added: 'I’m no expert, but I haven’t noticed us being at war with Germany, or you know, an actual Blitz happening.'

Another replied to Allsopp, whose father Lord Hindlip, was a chairman of Christie’s: 'So say you via Twitter...doing that without electricity are you?!' to which Allsopp replied: 'Point is if I couldn’t tweet because of a storm I wouldn’t be seeking compensation, things happen, less whinging more doing.'