A COUNTY Durham service station has been plunged into darkness and forced to completely shut after a major power failure.

Roadchef's services in Bowburn, at Junction 61, has remained closed since the early hours of Thursday (February 17) as Storm Dudley brought chaos.

In a statement, the company apologised for the disruption as they confirmed the power outage had left them unable to trade.

Read more: 13 North Yorkshire dogs electrocuted in tragic accident during Storm Dudley

The service station includes a number of retailers including McDonald's and a branch of Costa Coffee.

It comes as hundreds of homes in the North East have been left without power after severe weather brought down powerlines.

Meanwhile, 13 pedigree dogs were yesterday electrocuted after powerlines came down on a farm in North Yorkshire.

Follow live: North East hit by high winds, as power supplies and travel disrupted

In a statement to The Northern Echo, a spokesperson from Roadchef said: "We've lost power at our Durham services, located on the A1(M) at junction 61/A177, northbound and southbound, due to the ongoing strong weather conditions and storms.

"We are doing everything we can to get the power back up and running as soon as we can - we apologise for any inconvenience in the meantime."

Earlier today, Durham Roads Policing Unit confirmed the power failure had knocked out the traffic lights at Junction 61.

They tweeted: "The traffic lights at J61, Bowburn are currently off, likely related to an apparent power cut in and around that area. Approach with caution."

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