A PATIENT in an iron lung was left without a power supply after vandals attacked an electricity generator.

Firefighters came to the rescue to ensure that the woman had an emergency power supply to her home on the Grovelands Estate, Kidlington.

They were alerted at midnight last night by the ambulance service which had been called by the woman's doctor.

Divisional Officer Ian Mills said: "We used one of the generators that we carry. It's extremely unusual and I've never known a case like this before."

He added that until the fire service arrived, the woman's machine was being operated manually.

He said: "If you muck about with these things, you don't just put out street lamps. You are affecting people's lives."

A spokesman from Southern Electric explained that the company was currently carrying out major work on refurbishing the power lines in the area and had supplied some homes through a generator.

She said it was one of these generators that had been damaged by vandals and by concidence the lady's own backup electricity supply had failed as well.

She said: "We're awfully sorry that this happened to the lady in the iron lung. Our operators have had problems reaching the generators because of gangs of youths."

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