Around 1,600 properties in Steeton are still without gas today after high winds damaged supply equipment.

The roof was blown off a kiosk in Thornhill Road yesterday morning and the device inside, known as a gas governor, damaged.

The system automatically shut down to stop gas escaping.

Northern Gas Networks set up a customer drop-in centre at the Sailors and Soldiers Club in High Street, where heaters and hot plates were available for collection. It is open between 8am and 10pm.

And a second facility was opened at Keighley Leisure Centre to supply hot food, drinks and sandwiches for affected customers. A free shuttle bus was provided between Steeton and the centre.

The gas company said it was working hard to restore supplies as quickly as possible but that it was a time consuming process.

Repairs were completed yesterday afternoon and engineers worked late into the night on restoring supplies, but teams have to visit every affected property to carry out safety checks before gas can be turned back on.

Customer operations area manager Ian Cunningham said: "We would like to thank people for showing us a great deal of patience and understanding while we work hard to get the gas back on. It is important that people do not try to do this themselves - it is a job for a qualified gas engineer as there are critical safety checks that must be carried out.

“Engineers continue to work hard to restore gas supplies. Repairs were completed yesterday afternoon and engineers worked until late last night on the process of safely restoring supplies. Teams will resume door-to-door visits again this morning.

“Restoring supplies is a time consuming process as it needs to be carried out in a controlled and safe manner. Engineers now need to visit each individual property to carry out important safety checks before turning the gas back on. We would like to remind customers to check the identity of anyone asking to access their homes. Official gas engineers carry identity cards and are always happy to show them when asked.”

He added: "We are asking customers to check the identity of all doorstep callers. Official gas engineers carry identity cards and are always happy to show ID on request."

Anyone with concerns, or vulnerable customers wishing to arrange delivery of alternative heating and cooking facilities, are advised to contact customer services on 0191 5116940.

And people are being asked to stagger their use of electrical appliances wherever possible to help prevent overloading the local electricity supply network with the extra demand.