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Homes without gas after water main 'floods pipes'

BBC Temporary works in a road see a pile of mud and a hole in the ground, surrounded by temporary fencing.BBC
Affinity Water it began repairing the burst water main on Sunday afternoon

About 3,000 homes and businesses in north London have no gas supply after water "flooded" into gas pipes.

A burst water main filled the gas network in the Muswell Hill area on Sunday, said Cadent, which manages the UK's National Gas Emergency Service.

The company said the "large volume of water" meant supply had to be turned off at every affected property.

"We must remove every drop from the outside gas mains, as well as the pipes that go into each property, gas meters, boilers and appliances," a spokesperson said.

"We first need to turn off supply at every impacted property, then remove all the water that flooded in, and only then can we safely reintroduce gas to the network," they added.

Cadent said this work could take days.

The affected areas include Muswell Hill, Colney Hatch and Hornsey.

Cadent said a customer support team had been set up at Freehold Community Centre and people could use the Finchley Lido Leisure Centre to shower.

A man in a flat cap, black coat and zip jumper with glasses looks at the camera. Behind him are houses and temporary works fencing.
Lal Hardy said he may have to cancel his customers' appointments

Lal Hardy, who runs a tattoo shop in Muswell Hill, told BBC London, said: "It's unprecedented for anything like this to happen around here.

"I've got an industrial heater at the shop, but if it looks like it's going to be long term, we're going to have to cancel all our customers.

"Communities always get through everything in the end, and we will get through this."

A man in a pink patterned scarf, green gilet and glasses on his head looks at the camera. Behind him are houses and temporary works fencing.
Ian Puddick said work was happening to get the gas back on as quickly as possible

Ian Puddick, owner of a local plumbing company Leakbusters, described the removal of water as a "painstaking" job.

He said Cadent would work to remove water from the gas system in public areas, while private businesses would remove water from pipes in homes and offices.

He said: "In people's homes and offices, we will be taking any water that's in those pipes, inside the meter, and then recommissioning those appliances and getting their gas back on as soon as possible."

Affinity Water said that work to repair the burst water main began on Sunday afternoon.

"We've have rezoned the water, restoring the pressure to the area and you'll see your water flowing back to normal soon," it said on its website.

It added that discoloured or cloudy water was normal but customers could help by running the cold tap until the water was clear.

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