FAMILES say they have been hit by repeated power cuts over the past four months and are calling on their electricty company to fix the problem.

More than 30 houses in Northumberland Road, Southend, were left shivering without electricity during freezing conditions yesterday morning.

They say it was the seventh power cut for the homes over the past four months because of a faulty power supply. They also say little is being done to fix the problem.

In one home 87-year-old Geoffrey Fordham struggled to keep warm.

Colin Patrick, 63, his son-in-law, who with his wife, Marian, lives with Mr Fordham, said: “We have really had enough now.

“This is the seventh time it has happened. There is a problem which the power company doesn’t seem to want to rectify, probably because it affects only a few houses. Around one in three homes are affected by the problem.

“All they do is come down and reset the fuse.

“The cuts last anything from five hours to 15 hours. This time it has been so bad because of the cold. We have been huddled around one gas fire and have had no hot water. It is particularly hard on my father-in-law.”

Jenny Davis, spokeswoman for EDF Energy admitted families had suffered several cuts. She said: “EDF Energy Networks would like to apologise to customers affected by an intermittent fault on the underground electricity network supplying parts of Northumberland Avenue.

“Despite our best efforts the fault is proving particularly difficult to locate.

“Sometimes the heat transmitted when a fault occurs can reseal the cable making it virtually impossible to trace. Our engineers carried out temporary repairs to the low voltage underground electricity network after the fault first occurred on November 8.

“Power was restored to the 37 customers affected within approximately an hour of the fault. Regrettably, these customers have experienced four further interruptions to their power supply as a result of this problem.

“We are committed to providing a reliable service, and would like to assure customers we are doing everything we can to ensure supplies return to their usual level of reliability as soon as possible.”

The company added customers who have experienced four or more power cuts in a year, of more than three hours each, can claim a £50 payment.

The amount is the same for homes and businesses, who can apply in writing, stating the date and time when they were off supply to: Customer Relations (Special Storm Payment) Fore Hamlet Ipswich Suffolk IP3 8AQ.