WORK is starting to replace an underground electricity cable in a village which has been plagued by persistent power cuts.

The work in Leavening, near Pickering, will start this week and will take around a month to complete.

A spokesman for Northern Powergrid said: "We’re starting work to replace 180 metres of underground cable running along Main Street.

“The work, which will improve the reliability of supply to the area, will take about four weeks to complete and during this time there will be limited access.

"However, we will have traffic management in place during the course of the work to minimise any disruption to motorists.”

Letters are being sent to local residents to inform them of the works.