03/02/2009 - 1,000 premises without gas supply
More than 1,000 properties in a Northumberland town were left without gas as the snow continued to fall.
Northern Gas Networks, which supplies gas to the area, said that water had leaked into the gas main, meaning Rothbury was cut off from the mains network.
It is expected to be a couple of days before the gas supply is restored as engineers remove the water from the system in difficult winter conditions.
A Northern Gas Networks spokesman said: "Engineers have established a base in the town and are now visiting every affected property to switch off their gas supplies at the meter. This is an important safety measure and part of the process of restoring supplies.
"Both Northern Gas Networks and United Utilities would like to apologise to the people of Rothbury for the temporary loss of their gas supply. We are doing everything in our power to restore it as soon and as safely as we can."
Tara Borley, who works at a Rothbury pub, said the problems "couldn't have come at a worse time".
"It's horrible, it's absolutely freezing," she said. "We are without heating, and we can't cook. The whole village has been cut off."
Copyright © Press Association 2009
Related links
|
