A POWER CUT which affected the main centre of Aberystwyth on Friday night left bars and restaurants entertaining customers by candlelight.

The power outage, which affected Great Darkgate Street and some surrounding streets from around 8.45pm, left business owners reaching for the candles in a bid to stay open.

At Nick’s Kitchen & Restaurant on Portland Street, owners said the planned ‘Autumn Evening’ was made “even better” by the power cut, with musicians entertaining diners unplugged by candlelight.

At the Libertine bar, the “nightmare” power cut was turned into a “great event”, Sam Taylor, one of the owners of the bar said.

“The power went off around 8.30pm and came back on at about 11.15pm,” he said.

“It was a bit of a nightmare with no lights, till or music but we just put candles out everywhere and one of our bartenders happened to play in a band a few years ago so he grabbed a guitar and started playing.

“It actually turned into a great event.

“The atmosphere was great and everyone, customers and staff alike, had a blast.”

Scottish Power Energy Networks, responsible for the power in Aberystwyth, “apologised for the inconvenience” on social media, while workmen identified the issue affecting the town.

The reason for the outage is not currently known.

Power began restoring for affected properties before midnight.