THE Civic Offices in Epping were running on emergency power for 48 hours after a high voltage electricity cable was accidential cut by contractors working in the High Street.

Mains power was lost from last Wednesday afternoon (March 5) to Friday afternoon leaving the offices to operate a limited service.

Residents were still able to visit the Civic Offices for information and advice and could contact the council by telephone however all electronic transactions were unable to be dealt with.

Residents were able to make payments in person by cash and cheque but the council was unable to process payments by debit cards, by the automated telephone payments system or online via the council website.

Power was restored on Friday afternoon but council engineers continued to work to bring all systems back to full working order.

Council chief executive Peter Haywood said: "I would like to apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused. The offices have been operating on power supplied by our emergency generators and I would like to thank all those affected for their considerable patience and understanding during this incident."