Angry residents and business owners are demanding that Belco address their concerns about the safety of the electricity supply to Court Street after a woman was electrocuted yesterday evening.

A Belco worker, who did not wish to be named, confirmed that a blue truck was pulling out of a parking space on Court Street, near the junction of Dundonald Street, when his truck got tangled with a stay line.

The man, unaware that he was attached to a Belco utility pole, continued to pull away.

The utility pole snapped just below the transformer and parts of it came crashing to the ground. People on the street were alarmed when they heard a bang and saw sparks flying.

Wires went flying around the street, witnesses said.

An unsuspecting woman sitting on the stairs of the Bliss Hair and Nails salon was struck with one of the wires.

Witnesses said she screamed and that her face ?swelled up?.

?She couldn?t walk or talk,? a woman who wished to remain anonymous said. ?We?re really worried about her. She closed her eyes and started shaking.?

The woman who was described as young and beautiful was rushed to the hospital where it was confirmed that she had been electrocuted. At Press time, she was in the X-Ray department after suffering lower back pains.

The top portion of the pole lay in pieces and wires were scattered across the street and hanging from buildings. Two cars were damaged in the accident, one received many dents to its hood while another was burned.

Roxanne Christopher, who owns the Bliss salon, said she was praying for the woman and was fed up with being ignored by Belco.

?We?ve had a lot of problems in this area, she said. ?These poles catch on fire four or five times a year. We have massive power outages regularly. We receive the worst possible service from Belco and it is not right. We pay as much per kilowatt for electricity as businesses do on Front Street but we are not treated with the same respect.?

?This area is becoming revitalised. It is growing and new businesses are starting up, yet Belco has not addressed our needs or problems.?

?We have been telling them for years that something needs to be done because someone is going to get hurt. What is it going to take now??

?I don?t know if it is institutionalised discrimination but they have continually ignored us. We are in the Corporation of Hamilton but don?t get the same level of service as Front Street or Reid Street. It?s just plain wrong.?

Belco?s external relations spokesperson, Linda Smith, could not be reached by Press time last night to answer claims of institutional discrimination. She did appear on VSB radio news and requested that people stay away from the scene of the accident until repairs were made.

Belco workers on the scene estimated that they would have the electricity back up and running by this morning.