A COMMUNITY group wants power cables which hang over Billericay streets to be buried.

The Billericay Society is urging members to support the idea in plans to shape the town's future.

Member Ron Capes said: "We want the phone cables buried too, because they are visually intrusive and clearly maintenance is a problem because they can be bought down by trees or the weather.

"Underground they would be much better protected and cost much less to maintain."

Mr Capes says the town is hit by power cuts too often.

EDF Energy spokesman Rajan Lakhani said cost was the main problem with the idea.

He said: "A high voltage underground route can cost around ten to 20 times more than an overhead line using pylons.

"Repairs to faults on underground cables are also more expensive.

"Although underground networks are more resilient to severe weather, the time taken to repair faults can be significantly longer due to the difficulty in locating the fault and then digging down to repair it."