SCHOOLCHILDREN had an unexpected extra day's holiday when they were sent home for the day after a power cut in Padiham.

And thousands of people were left without electricity after the lights went out in the town early today.

Around 2,000 homes were affected by the loss of power, which went off at about 7.15am.

Engineers from United Utilities were working in the area this morning to try and identify the source of the problem and to repair it.

Power was back on by around 9.30am for most of the homes, although around 200 in the Green Lane and Station Road areas were still without electricity.

Pupils were sent home from Gawthorpe School, Burnley Road, because of health and safety concerns.

The school was expected to be open as usual tomorrow.

One of the area's major tourist attractions, Gawthorpe Hall, was not affected by the power cuts.

A spokesman for United Utilities said the problem seemed to have been caused by a faulty cable in the Padiham area.

He added: "We apologise for the inconvenience caused.

"Our engineers have been working through the morning to investigate the cause of the problem and to get the power back on as soon as possible."