Fire in London leaves 5000 homes and businesses in darkness.

Thousands of the buildings in the area were without electricity last night.

Some 5,000 homes and businesses in central London were left without electricity last night after an underground fire caused a huge power cut.

Phone lines were disrupted, West End shows were cancelled,thousands of workers fled their offices and High Court judges were evacuated when the fierce blaze broke out yesterday.West End shows were cancelled. 

Firefighters were called to Holborn in the West End after thick black smoke was seen billowing up from a manhole cover shortly after midday. 

There was chaos in the area as those evacuated waited on the street. people were struggling to breathe, this caused the traffic to begin to pile up.

Ten fire engines and seventy firefighters and officers were at the scene with enough safety measure in place.They smashed the burning manhole with sledgehammers and drenched it with water. 

By 7.20pm, they were able to put the burning manhole under control. The underground fire was also controlled after the fire fighter widened the hole and pour water in it.

There was no report of injuries. London Fire Brigade AssistanceCommissioner Peter Cowup said'Crews worked closely with the various electricity companies involedd identity the source anss extent of the fire which was underground

'As this was likely to be an electrical fire we had to ensure the power was off before we applied water to extinguish it. We worked with our partners and implemented a well-rehearsed plan to prevent the fire from spreading and to protect surrounding properties.London Fire Brigade assistant commissioner Peter Cowup said: 'Crews worked closely with the various electricity companies involved to identify the source and extent of the fire which was underground. 

Holborn underground tube station was closed and was later reopened by 7pm yesterday.

A Transport for London spokesman said 'just after 7pm yesterday that Holborn had been reopened'.

Ten London bus routes were also affected. 

 Police have closed the busy central London road and motorists are being advised to avoid the area because traffic light is yet to be working.

TfL told all passengers to check real-time travel updates before starting their journey, adding that Tube tickets were being accepted on buses.

UK Power Networks customer service manager Matt Rudling denied claims that the blaze started with a power cable.

He said: ‘We have no idea what caused it until we get access to the underground chamber.

‘There have been a few isolated incidents where our assets have resulted in fires.

‘The Healthy and Safety Executive have been working closely with us in working to mitigate these issues.’

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