BREAKING: Massive power cut in Selly leaves 2,000 without electricity

The train station is still in darkness


Power cuts hit Selly Oak late this afternoon and plunged hundreds of student houses into darkness.

The cuts left hundreds without power and are still affecting people in the area, with the train station currently experiencing a blackout.

Countless fire alarms were also set off and electrical appliances tripped, causing widespread confusion in the area.

Several roads including Heeley, Dawlish, Tiverton and Alton are being affected.

A spokesperson for Western Power said: “There’s 2,000 houses without power at first but now we’re getting closer to finding the issue, and it should be sorted within an hour.”

The power cuts also reached to the B30 postcode meaning houses in Stirchley Bourneville and Cotteridge have experinced intermittent blackouts.

The Western Power website noted that there were over 1200 customers currently suffering the power cuts in the B30 postcode area.

The power cuts in B30 postcode are expected to have been resolved by 6pm.

Second year Elizabeth Wotton, who was at the station during the blackout, said: “There is some lighting but most of it is off.

Both stations were pretty much completely black – it was really difficult to see the platform edge.
“The train is lit and the signs with arrival times are working but the main lights and the announcements weren’t.”

Lottie Mogridge is a third year student who lives on Rookery Road said: “We don’t have an alarm but next doors burglar alarm is going off. The power keeps cutting out but only momentarily but then after that alarms keep starting.

“When it first started I was stressing so much! To be honest it was ruining The Chase for me.

“Loads of people are coming out their houses who seem very stressed.”