Business people in Hamilton showed a touch of the hurricane spirit yesterday as they battled on despite a power failure.

The three-hour blackout hit a long section of Queen Street, plunging stores into gloom and setting temperatures soaring as air conditioners stopped working.

Kentucky Fried Chicken had to withdraw about 150 cooked pieces from sale, while aquarium fish at Pic A Pet suffered stress when air pumps failed.

Library staff closed their doors when it became too dark to read, and sales assistants were forced back to pen and paper when cash tills ceased ringing.

Managers had to scurry to payphones to make calls as electronic switchboards went dead.

Only at Casey's lounge was it business as usual, with a birthday party carrying on regardless and the cold ones only slightly cooler than normal.

The power cut struck just before 3 p.m., hitting premises on the west side of the street from Casey's down. Smuggler's Reef and Gosling's on Front Street were also affected.

"I was in a meeting upstairs and everything just went dark,'' said KFC general manager Mrs. Mya Fitzsimmons. "We had to throw out all our food that we'd cooked.

"There were customers in the shop but we had to clear it out. It must have cost a couple of thousand in lost business, plus wages for staff hanging around doing nothing.

"The power hasn't been out here since the hurricane.'' At Pic A Pet, Ms Kathy James was looking after the animals in the absence of owner Mr. Bryan Parkin.

"It was dark up here and I couldn't stay open,'' she said. "The only thing I'm concerned about is the fish. They were all hanging at the top of the aquarium for oxygen. They're going to be pretty stressed out.'' At Casey's, barman Mr. Michael Wade was holding a birthday party for his mother, 68-year-old Mrs. Barbara Dunlop, when the lights went out.

"Everybody was still happy and it made it a memorable day for her,'' he said.

"It didn't stop people from drinking.

"My boss was quick-thinking and ran down to Gosling's to get some bottles of soda, because our soda machines stopped working.'' The bar door was opened to allow customers to see what they were sipping, and there was no music. But despite the refrigerators not working, Mr. Wade said there was never a danger of warm beer. "Normally this is the coldest beer in town as it is,'' he joked.

A Belco spokesperson said last night the blackout was caused by a "failed cable''.

BRIGHT IDEA -- Staff at Smuggler's Reef knew how to cope when the power cut hit their store.

FAST FOOD SLOWDOWN -- Workers at Kentucky Fried Chicken had some time to cool off.