A WORKMAN escaped with his life when he cut through a power cable and plunged Halton Lea shopping centre into darkness.

Shoppers had to be evacuated shortly after 1.30pm last Tuesday when the workman damaged a high voltage cable, damaging himself and the centre's power supply.

Customers were shepherded away while MANWEB engineers undertook emergency repairs. The centre was closed to the public for two hours.

The man, who suffered burns was taken to Halton Hospital for treatment and was discharged later that day.

MANWEB's Sarah Batley said: "This man had a very lucky escape and caused a lot of people inconvenience."

She appealed to contractors to check the whereabouts of supply cables with Manweb before starting their job.

Manager Martin Jones said: "There was a mains failure, a high voltage cable had been broken into and we lost two-thirds of our power."

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