By Jonathan BarnesTENS of thousands of homes were without power last night after high winds and torrential rain swept through the region.Electricity supplier EDF Energy said 22,000 homes and businesses in East Anglia had suffered blackouts last night after the driving winds brought down power lines.

By Jonathan Barnes

TENS of thousands of homes were without power last night after high winds and torrential rain swept through the region.

Electricity supplier EDF Energy said 22,000 homes and businesses in East Anglia had suffered blackouts last night after the driving winds brought down power lines.

There were 7,200 customers still without power in Suffolk at 10pm yesterday, with the Bury St Edmunds area the worst affected.

The firm launched its emergency plan amid poor weather forecasts, drafting in dozens of extra engineers and call-centre operators.

An EDF Energy spokeswoman said: “We have extra staff working to deal with these faults, but are still being affected by the ongoing weather conditions.

“We are aware that a number of overhead power lines have been brought down and would urge people to stay away from these as some may still be live.

“At this stage we cannot predict when all supplies will be restored as the weather front is still moving through our area.”

Suffolk police said there had been a spate of minor road accidents across the county and reports of power cables and fallen trees on roads.

A woman driver escaped without injury when her car was hit by a falling tree in Gorleston Road, Lowestoft, at about 6.20pm, while a diversion was set up on the A11 at Barton Mills because of a fallen tree.

East Anglian Daily Times weatherman, Ken Blowers, said there had been winds of between 50mph and 55mph across the region and three-quarters of an inch of rain had fallen in a two-hour spell last night.

He added temperatures had fallen as low as 13C (55F) - well below the early-July average and forecast the storms would continue today and tomorrow.

jonathan.barnes@eadt.co.uk