Gas misery as 100 evacuated and families cut off for a week

MORE than 100 people have been evacuated from their homes in Leeds after a "substantial" gas leak in a block of flats.

Officers were called to the nine-storey building in Cherry Court, Burmantofts, at about 3.30pm Wednesday. All 82 flats were evacuated and the people forced to find other accommodation.

Power firm United Utilities said the gas escaped from a fracture in a low pressure main and entered the building, with engineers eventually repairing the leak around 10pm.

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Some of the escaped gas became trapped in the frozen ground, the company added, managing to find its way into the building. UU said its engineers dug trenches along the side of the block to help the remaining gas escape harmlessly.

A spokesman for the firm said: "Although the fractured pipe is now repaired, some gas continues to find its way into the building.

"Public safety is our overriding priority, and we are not taking any chances. Residents will be able to return to their homes as soon as gas readings inside the properties return to normal levels.

"We cannot say for certain what caused the fracture in the gas pipe, but the cold weather is the most likely explanation."

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West Yorkshire Police said residents were taken to nearby Fearnville Sports Centre for overnight accommodation.

"All but 21 of those residents have now found accommodation with family and friends," the force said.

No-one suffered any injuries as a result of the gas leak but the scene remained cordoned off.

Meanwhile, hundreds of West Yorkshire families are facing their seventh day without gas – and utilities bosses have admitted they cannot say when it will be back on again.

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Supplies to around 400 homes in the Hanging Heaton and Shaw Cross areas of Batley, near Dewsbury, were cut off after water from a flooded brook entered the gas mains on New Year's Eve.

Three schools in the area have also had to close.

Engineers are continuing to pump water from the pipes but their efforts have been hampered by water getting into a main deep underground.

Northern Gas Networks said it would be paying customers 50 a day compensation, rather than the usual 30, as a "one-off goodwill gesture".

A company spokesman apologised for the disruption but said it was impossible to say when supplies will be restored.

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"Only when the local network is free of water, and normal gas pressure restored, will an engineer visit each property to safely re-connect the gas supply.

"In the meantime, customers are advised not to try to re-connect their gas supply as there are important safety checks which must first be carried out."

The company is operating two drop-in centres at Ebenezer Methodist Church Hall and Shaw Cross Community Centre. It has also been handing out electrical heaters.

Households are being asked to try to stagger their use of major electrical appliances to avoid overloading the network, the spokesman added.

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Residents said the disruption had affected a large number of elderly people but younger residents had made sure pensioners had fan heaters to keep warm.

One resident, David Jones, said: "I think people have been very tolerant to be quite frank. It's a nasty one if you have got children or are elderly."