Central Networks, the electricity distribution company for central England, is putting out a special safety warning for summer show organisers after two potentially life threatening incidents over the weekend involving marquees.

The incidents happened at a village fete in Thurlaston, Leicestershire, on Friday and then, the following day, at the Lincolnshire Showground, when pins used to secure marquees damaged underground power cables.

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The pins, which are about four feet in length, damaged both low and high voltage cables running deep underground.

The majority of the 560 customers who were without power because of the Thurlaston incident were reconnected in less than an hour. More than 1,900 customers were affected in Lincolnshire, although engineers restored power to almost all of those within four minutes.

Phil Wilson, Customer Operations Manager for Central Networks, said: "People erecting large marquees should take steps to find out exactly where any cables could be in the area.

"There's no need to assume that the average tent peg could cause damage to our underground network, but large marquees have long pegs to hold them in place.

"It's remarkable that we should get two incidents over a single weekend but it's clear that they were very fortunate to escape serious injury."

(CD)