RESIDENTS in a Hampshire town were plunged into darkness after a lorry crashed into low-hanging power lines, snapping a telegraph pole in half.

Police say the lines, near School Lane in Romsey, were left hanging low after a car ploughed into the wooden mast hours earlier.

The two pronged collision meant residents were left without power for most of yesterday morning.

The A3090 was also closed throughout the day while SSE staff repaired the extensive damage.

Meanwhile, staff at nearby pub, The Hunters Inn, were unable to cook or pull pints and had to turn customers away on a busy Friday lunch-time.

School Road resident, William McIlory, 92, had his house damaged in the incident, which began when a Volkswagen Tiguan struck a telegraph pole at 3.30am.

An unsuspecting lorry driver then caught the lowered lines with his vehicle at around 7.30pm.

The violent tug of the truck pulled Mr McIlroy’s electricity line away from his roof, damaging his guttering in the process.

He said: “I didn’t hear anything last night, but it must have been a big pull to take it away from the wall.”

Mr McIlroy, who has lived in his home for more than 35 years, said the incident left him without power for up to four hours.

Nearby pub, The Hunters Inn, was also left with out power for several hours.

Assistant manager, Georgie Leggett, said: “I’ve worked here for four years and I have never seen anything like this.”

The pub was forced to turn customers away as staff were left without a cash register or cooking facilities during the power cut.

The 23-year-old added: “We are normally quite busy on a Friday.”

Drivers also faced disruption yesterday morning.

Police closed off the road from around 7.30am and diverted traffic along Braishfield Road.

One driver, who works at nearby care home, Woodley Grange, said the morning traffic was “mayhem”.

SSE confirmed it turned off electricity to eight customers after the crash, to allow staff to carry out repairs.

These included replacing the snapped telegraph pole and two electric boxes. A spokeswoman said power was restored at 4pm.

Police say they the driver of the crashed car assisted with their enquiries and his details were later passed to SSE.