A major telephone line fault which affected thousands of properties across the region is believed to be power-related.

More than 100,000 properties in Durham and North Yorkshire were affected by the problem which started shortly after 3pm on Thursday.

Homes in Darlington, Bishop Auckland, Wolviston, Tow Law, and Thornley in County Durham were severely affected as were Stokesley, Bedale, Catterick and Sinderby, in North Yorkshire.

A spokesman for BT said: "We believe the fault was power related but it's still under investigation and it may take a few days before we know for sure.

"It was all back to normal by 7.26pm."