A multi-million pound tree maintenance programme is cutting power cuts by a fifth.

SSEN has invested £25 million in the scheme across central southern England, with a further £25 million planned for this year.

Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) says the programme has already delivered a 20 per cent reduction in outages caused by trees and vegetation.

Eliane Algaard, director of customer operations at SSEN, said: "We live and work in the areas we serve, so we know how important it is to care for these communities, while respecting and understanding the needs of our customers.

SSEN surveyor walking the linesSSEN surveyor walking the lines (Image: Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks) "Our job is to make sure everyone has the power they need in their homes and businesses, so we’re grateful to the landowners who support our work."

The scheme covers 3.1 million homes and businesses across the region.

The work is carried out by a team of 84 arborists, surveyors, trainees and apprentices.

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Over the past year, they have walked nearly 15,000 kilometres to inspect and maintain the network.

SSEN has completed maintenance on 41,981 spans—equivalent to 2,086 miles—of overhead lines so far this year.

Plans are in place to cover more than 46,000 spans in total by the end of the year.