HUNDREDS of homes in Yate and Chipping Sodbury were without power last night as temperatures plummeted to zero degrees.

Engineers have been working all day to restore power supplies after a recurring fault was detected.

A total of 825 homes have been affected although power was supplied through a generator intermittently throughout Wednesday night and Thursday.

Scott Somerville, spokesman for Central Networks, said: "Throughout last night people had intermittent power which was supplied by means of a generator so they were not without power all night.

"There is a recurring fault on the line and our engineers are on site doing everything they can to restore power as quickly as possible and to find a permanent solution.

"We apologise for any inconvenience caused and hope to get power restored as quickly as possible."

The power cut led to the closure of Rodford Primary School on Thursday giving pupils another day at home. A generator which was put in place to supply power to the school, on Barnwood Road in Yate, also broke down.

Acting headteacher Jo Williams said: "The power went down at about 5pm yesterday and by this morning it was still not back on.

"There was no heating or electricity and fire alarms and computers were not working so the school could not open.

"Although power started up again briefly at 9am on Thursday it went off again straight away."

She said the school hoped to open as normal on Friday.

Although it was cold on Wednesday night, temperatures hovered around zero degrees compared to minus 10 which has been commonplace in recent weeks.