Around 3,000 people in Stannington were affected when a water main burst in December, damaging a nearby gas main and causing millions of litres of water to flood the network. Many people faced flooding as gas appliances became conduits for water, while thousands lost their gas supply for a week or more in the middle of a major freeze.

Now Sheffield Hallam MP Olivia Blake has written to energy regulator Ofgem's chief executive to raise issues with gas metres, payments, compensation and repairs.

One case raised involves a vulnerable man in his 90s with dementia, who has been left without a cooker and is unable to arrange his own repairs. Another was charged £80 on the day of the incident, she outlined, because of the pressure of water coming through.

Hundreds of homes in and around Stannington, Sheffield, were left without gas for up to two weeks after pipes were flooded by a burst water main.

Others, she said, are facing wildly inflated bills, while a number have said they are struggling to contact insurance investigators and water providers.Calling on Ofgem to raise these issues with energy companies as a matter of urgency, she said: "I am extremely concerned about what I have been hearing from residents.

"Ever since the incident, my office has been inundated with casework on a litany of issues: people who are being charged extortionate amounts for energy they could not have used; people who still haven’t had appliances fixed or that were replaced four months later; people who haven’t received compensation and can’t get hold of anyone to help.

"People in Stannington urgently need clarity about who is responsible for what, and action to ensure outstanding issues are properly resolved."

Stannington: Calls to resolve a 'litany of issues' months after gas flood in winter freeze