David Cameron was watching the Sound of Music when the power went out (Picture: PA)

Electrical engineers were ‘diverted’ from helping flood victims to fix a small problem at David Cameron’s house after the prime minister’s TV cut out while he was watching the Sound of Music.

Residents left without heating and lighting had to wait to get their power back after workmen were redirected to Mr Cameron’s £2million family home, it has emerged.

Engineers say they were sent on a 17-mile diversion to Chipping Norton after the prime minister lost power towards the end of the film on New Year’s Day.

However, the outage was later found to be a minor problem – and power was restored by flicking the fuse box trip switch.




George Faulkner and Alan Paton were part of an emergency repair team trying to restore power to 11,000 houses in Oxfordshire when they were suddenly diverted, they told BBC Radio 4.

Mr Paton said: ‘We could have been employed on better things but we got called out to a ­property where the trip had gone that they obviously hadn’t checked properly.’

Mr Faulkner added: ‘It didn’t need much sorting out. If he had got his minders to check the trip switch it would have saved us the journey. There was nothing wrong with their mains.’

A Scottish and Southern Energy Power Distribution spokesman said: ‘The prime minister did not receive preferential treatment when we attended his property and this visit was not to the detriment of other customers who may have been without power.’

A No.10 spokesman told the Sunday Mirror: ‘The power went down because there was a leaky roof. There was water around the fuse box. The engineers came to fix it, which they did.’