A concrete manhole cover was blown into the air after underground electricity cables caught fire.

Firefighters said a bystander had a lucky escape when the two-inch thick cover blew into the air at the Vogue Gyratory in Brighton on Saturday night.

Engineers cut the power to more than 50 homes in the area as they worked to fix they problem this morning

The fire is believed to have started after insulation in cabling caught fire, producing gas which created huge pressure in the manhole.

Watch manager Richard Chamberlain, of Preston Circus fire station, said: “Someone could have been standing on it and been seriously injured.

“Fortunately no-one was.

“There was a gentleman sitting on a wall reading a book when it happened. He was very lucky.”

EDF Energy were called after the explosion at 7pm.

A spokeswoman said: “EDF Energy Networks was alerted by the fire service about a fault on a section of underground electricity cable in Lewes Road, Brighton.

“EDF Energy Networks engineers attended and found it necessary to isolate power to 57 customers at 12.35am in order for our engineers to carry out repairs safely on the network.

“We would like to apologise for the inconvenience caused and reassure customers that our engineers are working to restore power to customers as quickly as is safely possible.”