WORK will start next week on the £1.2million second stage of a multimillion-pound project upgrading the power network in an East Lancashire town.

Engineers from Electricity North West will start work on Monday to replace eight underground electricity cables stretching 1.25 miles in Rawtenstall towards Waterfoot.

The scheme is set to cause more traffic chaos on the town's Bacup Road

The previous £1m project on Bacup Road towards Lower Cloughfold started in April and finished in October.

It replaced nine underground 11,000 volt electricity cables along a mile of highway

Work on the new scheme is expected to last for nine months with two-way traffic lights in operation until it finishes in February,

The cables under Bacup Road were first installed in the 1950s and their replacement will benefit thousands of customers in the town and its surrounding areas.

Dave Kenneford, Electricity North West’s project manager for the work in Rawtenstall, said: “We provide a critical service and it’s important we continue with key work to maintain and upgrade the electricity network, even through the current situation.

“For several years, customers in the area have experienced power cuts caused by the ageing underground electricity cables and after upgrading an initial nine last year, we want to capitalise on the success of the project and commence phase two. Our latest project is complex, but we are committed to Rawtenstall and we’re investing a further £1.2m and thousands of customers will benefit for many years to come.”

Teams will observe social distancing.