MORE than 50 shops and houses were left without power in Horwich after an underground electricity box blew-up.

Firefighters were called to Brownlow Road at about 3pm yesterday when a manhole cover was blown-off by a electrical fire underground.

A cordon was put in place while staff from Electricity North West worked through the night to fix the “high voltage link box” and cables, which have been damaged by the flames.

No one was injured.