A power outage in the heart of Hamilton on Thursday night was caused by a damaged transformer in Par-la-Ville car park.

The large device suffered a major failure that led to electricity being cut across the city just after 7.30pm, forcing many bars and restaurants to close.

Parts of Hamilton remained without power for almost two hours, with street lights and traffic signals disabled.

A spokesman for the City of Hamilton said the damaged transformer would be replaced on Sunday and the car park would be closed for the day to allow the work to be carried out.

“We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause,” he added.