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Family in Barming flee home after substation 'explodes' next door

A family fled in fear after a neighbouring power substation "exploded" in Barming, with debris hitting their roof.

Alan Marlow, 36, and Shannon Gibbon, 26, were with their six month son when they visited Shannon's mum, who had moved into her new home on Rede Wood Road just two days before.

Engineers working on the substation in Barming Picture: Tina Washington
Engineers working on the substation in Barming Picture: Tina Washington

The family, who are in a support bubble, heard a "horrendous bang" just after 4pm on Tuesday.

Mr Marlow, a chef, thought it was the boiler exploding as the night before it had broken and he had spent the afternoon getting it working for his mum-in-law, Joanne Gibbon, 53.

He said: "We all panicked. I said 'we need to get out now'.

"Shannon grabbed the baby, there was another bang which I think was the thing that hit the roof.

"It was chaos for a few minutes, the baby was crying. The dog ran down the street and people were outside trying to catch it.

The piece of substation which hit Joanne Gibbon's roof
The piece of substation which hit Joanne Gibbon's roof

"People were outside and I'm thinking it was the boiler."

The bang was traced to a fault in the substation which left around 3,000 households without power.

A piece of the substation around seven inches had hit Ms Gibbon's roof and smashed a tile, leaving a hole in the insulation.

The family are concerned this will lead to leaking. Mr Marlow said UK Power Networks had agreed to pay the damage.

He added it was lucky no one was in the garden when the piece landed.

Alan Marlow and son Isaac at the scene when the fire service arrived
Alan Marlow and son Isaac at the scene when the fire service arrived

Ms Gibbon had only moved in two days before. The bungalow had previously been her mother's, who died just after Christmas.

A resident reported how the substation "exploded" and there was a small fire. The fire service was called as were UK Power Networks engineers.

A spokesperson for UK Power Networks Engineers said: "Our engineers worked quickly and safely to restore electricity supplies to customers in Barming, Maidstone, after a fault on a piece of equipment at a substation initially interrupted supplies to 2,935 customers at 4.44pm yesterday.

"Most supplies were restored within 40 minutes and the final 49 properties were reconnected by 5.50pm. We appreciate how difficult it is to be without power and apologise for any inconvenience caused."

Addressing the damage caused to Ms Gibbon's roof, the spokesperson said: "Public safety is our top priority.

"Incidents such as this are rare, with the vast majority of electrical faults found and repaired without any external impact. We are in touch with the customer."

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