Hundreds of homes have been hit by sudden power cuts this evening.

Residents in the Tenterden and St Michaels area are without electricity and resorting to candles to light their homes.

Engineers have been called out to reconnect supplies as quickly as possible after the blackout at about 7pm.

UK Power Networks (UKPN) says about 290 customers are affected by the “unexpected” outage.

A statement on the firm’s website says: “We're sorry for any disruption this may have caused you.

“As this was an unexpected power cut, we didn't know it was going to happen so we were unable to give you advanced notice.”

The company says homes are expected to be reconnected between 10pm and 11pm.

Postcode areas affected are said to be TN26 3 and TN30 6.

UKPN added: “We may be able to get some customers on sooner.

“The timeframe may change and be extended depending on our investigations and the work involved to resolve the issue.”

The incident is understood to have been caused by a fault in the high voltage overhead cables.