A SPARKING electricity box caused a 9 ft "fireball" to leap into the air according to an eye witness.

Richard Harris was driving along Church Street, in Kidderminster, when he saw the "explosion" in the road yesterday - he immediately pulled over to dial 999.

He said: "I witnessed the explosion and fireball which caused the blackened manhole cover and sparks.

"The fireball must have been about 9 or 10ft high, quite a frightening experience."

The incident was centred on an underground link box which had shorted and was covered by a heavy metal lid.

The box contained 240-volt cabling supplying power to nearby homes.

Firefighters arrived on the scene at 1pm but could find no flames and called engineers from electricity firm Central Networks, which is responsible for maintaining the connection.

Seventeen households were initially without power but repairs meant a further 150 homes had to be temporarily cut off.

Andrew Barrow, company spokesman, said one of the box's links had failed - similar to a fuse blowing on a household appliance - causing "arcs and sparks".

He added it was "very unlikely" there were any flames or that there was a danger to the public.