Thousands still without gas after burst water main

Thousands of people left without gas after a water main burst in north London could be cut off for several more days, the BBC has been told.

More than 3,000 homes and businesses in and around Muswell Hill have no heating or hot water, because the main flooded gas pipes on Sunday.

More than 100 engineers from across England are trying to disconnect each building on the network so that water can be cleared, says Cadent, the firm that runs the network.

The company said a "significant operation" was under way.

The network runs through parts of the N10 postcode area, straddling Muswell Hill, Colney Hatch and Hornsey.

The water main was repaired shortly after it burst, but the job of pumping water from the gas pipes will take until at least the weekend, Cadent said.

"Unfortunately, getting water out of thousands of metres of gas pipes is going to take time," said Vicky Grieve, Cadent's network director for the area.

"We have to follow a methodical process to make sure we don't cause further issues later.

"We are doing our best to resolve this as soon as we safely can."

Engineers also need to check each property, in case water has entered appliances inside people's homes, she added.

About half of the affected properties were disconnected on Monday.

But hundreds of homes were not disconnected because engineers could not access them, Ms Grieve said.

She urged people to stay at home on Tuesday, adding that engineers aimed to cut off the remaining homes and businesses by 22:00 GMT.

Affinity Water, which owns the main, said its teams "worked swiftly to address the issue" and were collaborating with Cadent to resolve the issue.

Residents have been able to access supplies such as heaters and blankets from a local community centre.

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