RESIDENTS in a Hampshire village have literally been given the shock of their lives.

Households were thrown into pandemonium as alarm clocks went awry and phones went on the blink. For a power surge in Marchwood wiped out electrical equipment from stereos to microwaves in hundreds of households.

Homes in Portside Close, Tides Way, Admiralty Way, Ordnance Way, Teeside Walk, Broad Walk, The Rushes and Alder Close are among those affected.

Soldiers and doctors at Marchwood Military Port and Forestside Medical Practice have also been affected by the freak incident.

Luckily, only minor equipment such as squaddies' personal stereos and civilian line phones were damaged.

Electricity bosses have put their hands up to the error, which they are calling a "short voltage fluctuation".

But residents only wanted to hear that their equipment would be replaced.

Alison Levett, a personal assistant, said: "I'm cheesed off I've lost anything at all. My microwave, stereo, telephone - they're all things I use all the time."

Paul Attrill, a 43-year-old civil servant of The Rushes, Marchwood, has lost alarm clocks, television boosters, a microwave and a stereo.

He said: "I don't know what's going on, no one's been given a straight answer."

Major Lyndon Robinson, of Marchwood Military Port, said: "We've been affected in the way the local civilians have been affected. No military kit was affected, just personal kit."

A spokesman for the Forestside Medical Practice said just a printer had stopped working. Computers containing important patient files were fine, she added.

Contractors have already been drafted in by Southern Electric to visit homes and fix any broken goods. Southern Electric has promised to repair all items and return them with a 12-month guarantee.

A spokesman for the power company said: "It was just a short voltage fluctuation. It has only affected small electrical items. We can't say at the moment how many homes have been affected so we don't know the extent of the damage or how much it will cost to fix."

She said contractors were already knocking on doors to collect broken goods and promised that the company hoped to visit everyone affected within two days.

She said: "We will return goods in full working order with a full 12-month guarantee.

"Repairs could take up to four days but will be carried out at no cost to our customers.

"Staff are working through the weekend to talk to customers."

Anyone who has not yet been visited and wishes to register a problem with the company is urged to call their emergency hotline on 08457 70 80 90.