TRADE soared in one hardware store while other businesses were forced to shut shop after a power cut plunged Marlow into darkness this week.

The biggest power cut for years which affected most of the town hit businesses just as they opened up for the day at around 8.30am on Monday morning.

The cloud had a silver lining for Richard Hunt, owner of Hunt's Hardware, who kept tills open and enjoyed a roaring trade in lights.

The owner of the Spittal Street store spoke to the Free Press during the cut.

He said: "Because of the darkness inside, a lot of people are closing their shops up. We are trying to stay open because we are doing a roaring trade in torches, lanterns, gas lanterns and things like that. We've got to stay open because people need those emergency things."

He added: "The last time I remember a massive power cut like this was a couple of years ago in the evening, when most of the town went out."

But Philippe Burger, who runs Burgers on The Causeway in Marlow, lost some trade with bakery delays but customers were determined to enjoy their morning coffee.

He said: "People were quite happy to sit in the semi-light. It was not chaos but it was not helpful. When you are used to electricity it is very inconvenient.

"It delayed our production in the bakery and we were limited to what we could service in the tea room."

A spokesman for Southern Electric said the cut was due to a network fault.

He said: "We had a problem affecting most of Marlow. And apologies to our customers for the inconvenience."

Power was restored at 10.15am.