An entire neighbourhood of 14,000 residents were forced into darkness after a confused bird destroyed a huge electrical substation.

Officials in San Diego County, California, were baffled after the kamikaze bird hit the equipment on Wednesday (August 24).

The damage at the La Mesa Substation was so great that several thousands of homes were left without any power at all for 90 minutes.

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Power was restored by 10.10am, but the bird was never found.

It's possible that the voltage sent into the body of the poor flying creature was so great that it could have exploded without a trace.

In total, 13 communities were affected by the blackout, which started at 8.37am.

It is not know exactly what caused the bird to hit the power station, but an investigation is thought to be under way.

The substation's location actually backs onto a very big public tree-filled park, which also contains the memorial site of legendary musician Saul Viera who was born in the area.

It was once thought that some birds, especially pigeons, were intelligent enough to learn how to use the Tube in London.

Last year it was said that commuters on London’s Underground had been noticing that the capital’s pigeons had started using technology created by humans to make their little migrations a bit easier.

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The wily birds seem to have been doing it for a while, apparently passing on the knowledge to new pigeon generations, making the fare-dodging antic part of their culture.

Scientist Lorna Read said: “I feel quite sure that travel, not food, was their purpose.

"Pigeons are intelligent and easily trained and I see no reason why they should not have cottoned on to the fact that travel by Tube saves their wings – especially as there are so many deformed and crippled pigeons in the city.”

Sadly, it seems that the bird flying into the La Mesa power station did not have quite the same level of intelligence as London birds.

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