Footage appears to show skies light up over County Durham as power line falls on A1(M)

An explosion-like orange flash was captured on dashcam footage from a vehicle travelling on the A1(M). Credit: Jade Hindle

Footage posted online appears to show the skies over County Durham light up as a power line fell on the A1.

Dashcam video recorded on the A1(M) just before 5:40pm on Monday 20 November captures what looks like an explosion in the distance.

The video was posted on Facebook, as well as another which also captures the orange and white flash.

Highways England closed the north and southbound carriageways of the A1(M) in the Newton Aycliffe area, between junctions 59 (Coatham) and 60 (Bradbury), following a power line fall on Monday evening.

Police, Highways England, and electrical engineers attended - though it was not clear what caused the cable to come down.

Initially, almost 2000 homes were left without power but as of mid-morning on Monday only seven remained off-grid.

A spokesperson for Northern Powergrid said: “At approximately 4:30pm on Monday 20 November we experienced a high voltage overhead line fault, initially affecting 1978 customers in the vicinity of the A1, between junction 59 and 60.

“Engineers and overhead line resources were dispatched to the site and isolated the section that had faulted, restoring supplies to all but 27 customers.

"Repairs were completed to the section of overhead line that had come down onto the A1 by midnight, and the road was reopened shortly after in conjunction with the police and highways teams.

“Unfortunately, we still have seven customers off supply this morning due to a further fault identified on our network."

A power cable came down on the carriageway on the A1(M) in the Newton Aycliffe area. Credit: Highways England

The Northern Powergrid spokesperson continued: "Generators have been dispatched to the site, alongside our repair teams, and we estimate power will be restored for the remaining customers at 12pm today, Tuesday 21 November.

“We are providing additional support to affected customers on site who are still off supply, and are prioritising visits and offering welfare support."

The company added that if customers needed support they could contact its free Priority Services Membership line on 0800 169 2996 or follow progress updates via an interactive power cut map: www.northernpowergrid.com/power-cuts-map

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