SOME of Blackburn's largest employers are set to claim thousands of pounds in compensation from Norweb after a series of lightning power cuts have disrupted production.

Firms in the Whitebirk area have been affected by the power cuts, which have also hit homes in the Little Harwood area.

Bosses at compact disc plant Universal Manufacturing, formerly owned by PolyGram, believe the disruption to production has resulted in the loss of 250,000 discs and cost the firm thousands of pounds.

"Some of our machines take up to four hours to reset and get up to speed again after a power cut," said angry plant boss Bill Beddows.

After the Lancashire Evening Telegraph contacted Norweb, Mr Beddows met with a Norweb manager to discuss the problem, together with electronics giant Philips, which has also been hit.

"We haven't been told when the problem will be fixed. They keep trying things but they don't seem to be working.

"If things were quiet in the factory it wouldn't be as much of a problem but we are full of work at the moment.

"If our customers aren't happy with us meeting delivery times then they can go somewhere else. If I'm not happy with Norweb there's not much I can do. Even if I switch suppliers I would still be dependent on Norweb's infrastructure." Mr Beddows said his firm, which employs more than 300, would be seeking compensation from Norweb for the disruption, which is believed to have been caused by a replacement transformer.

Homes in the Laburnum Road, Little Harwood area have also been affected by the power cuts.

Residents say they have been suffering short power cuts throughout August.

A Norweb spokesman said they had identified a problem in the distribution systems and will take action to rectify it, although they could not say when the supply would be back to normal.

She added claims for compensation were treated according to each individual case.

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