Villagers cut off as dripping thong sparks brown out

A village in Lincolnshire was cut off after a low flying thong wedged itself on power lines.

The skimpy black smalls had been attached to a helium balloon which had become entangled in a power line supplying the village of Leadenham. Locals suggested they may have escaped from the local Polo clubs summer ball.

Whilst the barely there undergarment would have caused no problem had it simply been cavorting round a swimming pool in LA, or splashing in the surf in Florida, when combined with the soaking British summer it caused a short circuit, cutting power to 17 homes and businesses in the hamlet.

A spokesman for the electricity firm was clear about the dangers of getting your underwear mixed up with the power supply. Customers should call for an experienced engineer to deal with such situations. "Don't try and get them down yourselves. That is when it becomes dangerous."

This isn't Leadenham's first brush with notoriety. According to a tourist website, it was mentioned in the Domesday book, and in the 19th century it had a railway station.®