THIS is the moment when a "tower of flames" sent a manhole cover flying into the air in the centre of York.

Press reader Maria Hyde captured the drama on camera, as shoppers and shop workers ran for cover in Feasegate.

Police cordoned off the road in the wake of the incident on Monday lunchtime.

It later emerged an electrical fault was to blame for the city centre drama.

Engineers from power supplier NEDL dug up the street and carried out repairs on an underground cable.

A spokeswoman for the electricity company said: "We don't know what has caused this to happen, but a permanent repair has been made. We certainly do not anticipate any further problems."

Terrified shoppers ran for cover as the ground shook and flames belched out from under a manhole cover at about 1pm, on Monday.

Feasegate businesses - many of which were left without electricity - were evacuated, and remained closed all afternoon.

After York firefighters made the area safe, power supplies were turned back on at about 8pm, on Monday night.

It was anticipated the road would be shut until Friday, but most of it reopened yesterday. Only a small area remained restricted.

City of York Council officials said the road reopened earlier than expected because of the speed with which work was carried out. Yesterday, all the street's shops were open for business as usual.

Simon Coates, director of Athena, in Feasegate, praised NEDL's prompt work, which enabled the store to operate its usual opening hours.

Mr Coates said: "They finally let us in at about 3.30pm on Monday to remove our belongings, when they established that the fire had been put out.

"They had to dig up the road, so they were waiting for the digger. When it arrived, they worked until 8.30pm to get the power back on. I was impressed with how much they managed to do in that time.

"The following morning, it was business as usual for us, although there was still a barrier outside Yorkshire Building Society."

Mr Coates said he would contact NEDL about possible compensation.

He said: "It's not good to lose a summer holiday day's trading, and the tourist nature of York means you don't tend to get back what you've lost.

"With previous experience, it is very hard to get any compensation, but we will make contact with NEDL to see if there is any goodwill."

The NEDL spokeswoman said any claims for compensation would be dealt with on an individual basis.