Southern Electric said 45,000 customers were cut off in an area stretching from Wallingford and Watlington to Wheatley and much of Oxford.

No one was hurt in the explosion at the Cowley electricity substation, in Blackberry Lane.

Police stressed that the explosion was very minor. The fire service said it involved a circuit breaker and some residual oil, and at one point an electricity transform was "well alight".

Some callers to BBC Radio Oxford said they heard a loud bang at around 18:30. Half a dozen primary substations immediately shut down.

All 45,000 customers had power again within 80 minutes but hundreds of householders caused extra problems by calling the fire service and police unnecessarily.

The only emergencies dealt with by the fire service involved two people who had to be rescued from lifts, in Windrush and Hockmore tower blocks in eastern Oxford.