It was the ultimate newspaper nightmare. An hour to deadline and all the lights go out. A massive power cut affecting tens of thousands of properties plunged a swathe of the West Midlands into darkness, forcing the Express & Star into emergency procedures.

The crisis, on the day before the firefighters’ strike, was caused by a blaze at a 132,000-volt electricity sub-station.

The Express & Star was one of scores of Wolverhampton businesses affected by the eight-hour blackout.

But while many other city-centre businesses put up the shutters for the day and lost thousands of pounds, the Express & Star was on the streets virtually as normal.

After the crisis, managing director Keith Parker hailed the performance “a miracle”.

It was achieved partly because the newspaper’s Queen Street premises have a standby generator and a back-up computer system.

But the key to success was the Express & Star’s second printing house at West Bromwich in Sandwell.

While the Wolverhampton presses were silenced by the black-out, a small editorial and technical team headed for West Bromwich, led by deputy editor Keith Harrison and chief sub Graham Barfoot.

The three West Bromwich presses, which usually produce three editions, turned out the entire day’s run of 170,000 copies.

Office chief reporter Ken Tudor said: “For one day it felt like Sandwell was the centre of the universe.”

Circulation manager Martin White said: “It was a very steep learning curve for everyone.

“But we realised there would be areas where the power was off where people would have no TV, no radio and no other source of information.

“We concentrated on those hotspots and used every available van, and even reps’ cars, to divide the normal runs and save time. We had to contact every single newsagent to ensure the delivery boys and girls were not hanging around for hours.

“Sandwell would normally print about 70,000 copies. On this occasion they did 170,024. Some very valuable lessons were learned.”

Keith Parker’s verdict was: “Our success was a tribute to everyone who took part. All the facilities we needed were brought together by the dedication and professionalism of each department working under great pressure.

“The experience has shown we can survive and produce, even if just about the worst calamity happens.”

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