National Grid engineers are continuing to restore the gas supply loss in East Barnet. The engineers will work through the evening calling at properties in the area and ensuring that gas supplies are turned off at the meter.

Around 700 homes in East Barnet are without a gas supply after water entered the local gas mains. The water is believed to have come from a burst water main which in turn, damaged a nearby gas pipe.

The damaged gas main has been repaired and at 2pm today engineers began the process of pumping the water out of the gas system.

An incident room has been set up in St Mary’s Church of England Primary School in Little Grove. Around 3000 cooking and heating appliances have been distributed to all affected households and we are working closely with Hertfordshire Council’s emergency planning department to identify vulnerable people within the area.

Paul Hanafin, National Grid’s Incident Controller, said “At present it is too early to say when gas supplies will be restored. We are drafting in engineers from as far as the North Midlands to help and we are working hard to ensure that residents have their gas back as quickly as possible. We appreciate that this is a difficult time for residents, but we ask them to bear with us as we work to resolve this situation”.

ENDS

If you are a local resident and have any enquiries about the loss of gas supply in East Barnet, please call 0845 605 6677.

If you smell gas or have lost your gas supply please ring the National Gas Emergency service on 0800 111 999.

For Media enquiries, please call 07785 220 647.