Work continuing to restore gas supply to Silsden

Engineers from Northern Gas Networks (NGN) last night began reconnecting a small number of customers in the town.

More customers will be reconnected today.

And with a Yellow weather warning for snow tomorrow, Bradford Council has said it will have a gritting team on standby to make sure routes into the town remain clear.

A Council spokesman said: "The weather forecast is suggesting tomorrow looks rather grim. It is likely to be a mix of sleet and rain with snow on higher ground. We will have a gritting team on standby specifically to deal with Silsden just in case it gets bad.

"We do not expect the weather to affect the Northern Gas Network gas reconnections, however, if any snow settles, then routes in Silsden will be fully prioritised for gritting to help residents as much as possible."

Supplies to over 3,700 properties – most of Silsden – were cut off on Friday morning when contractors working on a housing scheme off Belton Road damaged a main.

NGN sent its engineers to the scene and drafted in back-up from other companies to restore supplies as quickly as possible, but residents have been warned it will take several days.

As part of the operation, the company's teams needed to access all affected properties to isolate the gas supply allowing for repairs to the mains to be carried out.

A customer support centre was set-up at St James' Church hall, where residents can get help.

Assistance has been provided by volunteers and representatives from the Red Cross and Bradford Council.

Over 1,000 heaters and other essential items such as heat plates have been distributed, together with food vouchers for several outlets in the area.

And teas and coffees have been provided at the town hall, where facilities were offered-up by the Friends.

The customer support centre is open again today.

Shower facilities will be available at Keighley Leisure Centre until 4pm today and from 9am to 5pm tomorrow.

Iain Foster, NGN's supply strategy manager, thanked residents for their "ongoing patience".

"We are still expecting the work to take a number of days as we systematically reinstate gas supplies to the network," he added.

"Our engineers remain onsite working hard on the phased plan for reinstating gas to affected properties.

"External partners including West Yorkshire Police, West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, volunteers, St James' Church, the town hall, library, Silsden Buzz and the local community have all assisted us in resolving the loss of supply as safely and quickly as possible."

A massive community operation swung into action when the gas crisis began.

And tribute has been paid to NGN and the public spiritedness of people in the town.

Silsden town mayor, Councillor Peter Robinson, said: "On behalf of the town council, I would like to thank all those involved in the community effort to ensure the wellbeing of everyone during these events.

"We are grateful for NGN's efficient handling of the situation and we're extremely proud of all the volunteers who have come and helped.

"Our heartfelt thanks go to the local businesses, hotels, sports club, churches, the library and town hall for going that extra mile.

"We also wish to thank all the local social media sites and websites which are doing a sterling job of keeping us all informed."

Town and district councillor Adrian Naylor also praised the response.

He added: "About 8,000 people have been affected – virtually all the town.

"I must say the response from Northern Gas Networks has been fantastic, I can't praise them enough. People came in on the Bank Holiday to help.

"And the community is pulling together."

MP John Grogan was briefed on the situation on Friday night, at a meeting with NGN representatives and the council leader.

"It is an impressive operation that was put onsite quickly," he said.

"There were 26 fitters working in the town on Friday evening. Yesterday there were 120 fitters plus another 80 staff.

"There is a strong community spirit in evidence, with many local people giving up their Bank Holiday weekend to assist.

"The properties nearest the new development at Belton Road where the supply was breached are being turned on first and then the rest of the town in sequence.

"Staff have to visit all 3,752 properties in Silsden to isolate the gas supply to every property so it is then safe to start introducing gas back into the network.

"Every property is then visited again to assist with turning the gas and appliances back on."

He added that some vulnerable residents were being housed in hotels.

NGN says customers will receive compensation for loss of supply. Details will be announced soon.

Anyone needing customer support can call 0800 040 7766.

Companies from across Britain supporting the operation include Wales & West Utilities, which has provided 27 engineers.

Andrew Hopkins, its director of operations, said: "We're working round the clock to help NGN repair the network and get the gas flowing again as safely and as quickly as possible."

Barratt, the housebuilder behind the Belton Road scheme, yesterday apologised to townspeople.

A spokesman said: "We have been made aware that a contractor working on our Saxon Dene development in Silsden damaged a gas main affecting gas supplies in the area.

"We apologise to residents for the inconvenience this is causing and have offered Northern Gas Networks our full support as they work to reinstate the supply."

Meanwhile, Northern Powergrid is monitoring the electricity network for any potential knock-on surges in demand while residents are without gas.

Any significant overloading of the network could increase chances of damage and result in a power cut.

Northern Powergrid has teams on standby to respond if necessary, but residents are being urged to be aware of their energy usage to help prevent any issues.

Advice includes: minimise the use of appliances and switch-off or unplug any electrical equipment you don't need and heat only essential rooms; stagger the use of high-demand appliances such as cookers, heaters, kettles, immersion heaters, electric showers, dishwashers, tumble driers and washing machines.

In one odd twist to the story, Bradford Council had to defend itself from a Twitter account claiming to be the official account of God.

The account, which has over 32,000 followers, sent out a Tweet to the BBC, ITV and Sky News on Saturday claiming that Council traffic wardens had "turned out in force on a Saturday to ticket people who are trying to collect food blankets and heaters."

Bradford Council issued a harsh rebuke to the claim, Tweeting: "Just in case anyone is paying attention to this account, this is utterly untrue. The wardens are there assisting the community and helping elderly residents. They have not issued any parking tickets, nor will do so."

"God" then apologised to the Council, claiming to have got the false information from another account.