Update 2: All residents should have gas restored today

An estimated 750 homes across the Billington Park and Sandhills area were affected on Thursday evening – one of the coldest nights of the winter so far.

SGN, who are providing an emergency response on behalf of gas provider GTC, say the problem was an issue with the ‘local governor’ – a piece of equipment responsible for keeping a constant pressure on the network.

“The fault caused the failsafe to kick in and cut off the flow of gas,” said a spokeman.

She added: “This is very rare. The cause is being investigated.

“We have taken lots of calls and we have given our heaters to people who need them the most, like the elderly and people with young families.

“But our focus now is restoring gas. It’s cold and we appreciate it’s not very nice.”

The spokesman added that extra staff had been deployed to get all households reconnected as soon as possible.

Where residents are out, a card will be put through their door asking them to call to have their gas restored.

The spokesman added: “We are optimistic we will be finished today. We have drafted in extra resources for the late afternoon and early evening for when people start getting in from work.”

Residents with any questions can visit SGN’s customer service team’s incident van stationed at Astral Park Sports and Community Centre in Johnson Drive. You can also ring the 24-hour incident line on 0800 912 1717.

Have you been affected? Tell us your experience. Email [email protected]