The Red Cross has been dispatched to Surbiton to help support 80 residents who have been without power since yesterday morning.

While the charity are more used to dealing with humanitarian crises around the world, they have been drafted in by energy supplier EDF to offer “practical and emotional support” to residents trying to cope without power and hot water.

The power cut has been affecting houses in Cranes Park and King Charles Road in Surbiton since 5.30am yesterday and residents said they have been left in the dark by EDF as to what the problem is and when it will be resolved.

In a statement, EDF said engineers have discovered a fault with underground cabling work and they were working hard to resolve the “complex problem”.

They are confident power supplies will be restored by this evening but residents are concerned they will face a second night without power.

One resident of Cranes’ Park, who did not want to be identified, said her family have been struggling to navigate around their Victorian semi by torchlight.

She said: “My son can’t do his homework because it is too dark and my asthma has flared up because of the cold.

“All we were told was to find a friend who we could take the contents of our freezer to so it didn’t start rotting. It’s been appalling.”

An EDF spokeswoman said: “We do understand how difficult such a long interruption to supply has been for customers and we would like to apologise to anyone who has been affected for the inconvenience caused.

“Our customer relations team will be writing to customers to explain and apologise.”

The spokeswoman also confirmed that a team from the Red Cross would be handing out hot drinks and providing information to vulnerable customers while the repair work progressed.

• Have you been affected by the power cut? Tell us below or call the newsdesk on 020 8330 9548.