HUNDREDS of people in East Kilbride were left without power on Monday (January 31) after a sudden flash of lightning and loud thunder startled residents across the town.

Around 26 postcode areas in the Lanarkshire town and parts of nearby Strathaven and Clarkston were affected at around 11pm.

Fears that a pylon near the Lindsayfield area had been hit prompted speculation across social media. One East Kilbride man said a “massive thunder and lightning surge” had shaken his house while many more residents reported hearing a "loud bang" after a bright flash of lightning.

Engineers rushed to fix the outage, which lasted around half an hour.

A spokesperson for SP Energy Networks said: “Last night, power suppliers to the area near Lindsayfield Road were disrupted for around 270 customers at 10.51 pm.

“Our engineers restored supplies for over 200 customers within 30 minutes and the remaining 70 in less than an hour from the initial issue. We always work to minimise disruption and regret any inconvenience caused.”