Commuters going through Barking needed to take an alternative route as the main village road was blocked.

The B1078 running through the village, near Needham Market between the junction for Barking Road and Hascot Hill, was impassable after a vehicle hit an electricity pole.

Emergency repair work was being undertaken before the road can be reopened.

A spokeswoman for Suffolk police said a white BMW had crashed into the pole at about 1.30am.

The crash caused power lines to lay across the road and meant houses in the area have lost power.

EDF and UK Power Network engineers worked at the scene to restore power but had warned that electricity could be off for several hours.

A spokeswoman for UK Power Networks said: “The incident on the B1078 at Barking, has interrupted power supplies to 19 customers in the area and we will be able to restore them as soon as repairs are completed. We are working as quickly as is safely possible on site, to do this.”

Power was restored to the majority of homes by 12.20pm. A final technical check is needed before all the power will come back on.

An accident blocked a road in Clacton-on-Sea. London Road experienced problems in both directions.

Travellers using the trains can expect a largely stress-free journey with only minor cancellations on the network.

The showery weather should make way for sunshine later on. It will be mostly cloudy but will be warmer later with a few heavy downpours possible. Maximum temperature 22C (72F).

Tonight will be see a few scattered showers persist for most of the night, Minimum temperature 14C (57F).