ARCTIC BLAST
Thousands left without heating in ‘major incident’ as Brits warned -10C bone chiller could last a WEEK
THOUSANDS have been left without heating for five days after a "major incident"; was declared.
Some 2,000 homes in Sheffield will be without gas amid a devastating cold snap.
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Locals in the Stannington area of the South Yorkshire city were affected on Friday when a burst water main damaged a gas pipe.
It comes as the Met Office warned of a -10C bone chiller that could last for a week.
Cadent Gas said more than 100 engineers have remained on site draining water from the system.
In a statement, Cadent added that it had pumped more than 400,000 litres of water out of the gas network so far.
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There were "a mixture of properties off gas and on gas and with poor pressures";, the firm said.
The major incident sent hundreds of thousands of litres of water into the gas network late on Friday.
The forecaster extended Wednesday's yellow weather warnings into Thursday and Friday, with ice in coastal and northern England, with both snow and ice expected in northern Scotland.
Arctic air, dubbed the Troll of Trondheim, will quickly move south during Wednesday, leaving most of the country in its grip by Thursday morning.
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Met Office spokesman Grahame Madge said: "We are in this pattern for seven days at least.
"We could see it continue for a while longer, there's uncertainty in the evolution and how long it will last.
"However, the pattern for the next seven days is that it will remain cold and we will see double digit minus figures overnight in areas that are prone to frosts and areas where there is lying snow."
There was no expectation of widespread heavy snow, but wintry showers were expected during the cold spell, particularly on higher ground and by the coast, Mr Madge said.
Cold air from the north tended to contain less moisture than from the west, meaning less cloud cover and therefore lower overnight temperatures.
Mr Madge said although this will be a cold snap, it will not be as tough as the "hard December" of 2010.
As temperatures dropped below freezing yesterday night, Sheffield City Council said it declared a major incident so services can be concentrated on the area.
Council leader Terry Fox said: "Over the weekend we were alerted to a contained situation and have been assisting Cadent as best we can.
"Since then, the incident has progressed and spread further across the city.
"With a colder spell due in the coming days it is important we and other organisations across the city collaborate to ensure all the residents affected are provided with the support they require, especially the most vulnerable.
"By declaring a major incident, we will be better able to co-ordinate the overall response to the issues and call on additional support if needed."
Some Stannington residents told they had experienced issues with the electricity supply on Monday.
Ollie Paton said: "I came home from work and the electricity was off. It came back on, then went off again. It's freezing. You can see your own breath in the candlelight."
While Alan Walker said: "People are expecting the gas to be put back on any time. In reality I think this is going to go on for a long time.
"And with the cold weather, it's warmer to stay outside than it is to stay in the house."
Mr Walker said he feared there would be further issues once the water had been removed from the system.
"I've had customers in here saying they're turning their gas hobs on and there's water coming out," he said.
In the House of Commons, Sheffield Hallam Labour MP Olivia Blake said she was "yet to receive a response" to her letter to ministers asking for help with the incident.
She told MPs: "I am very conscious that the council don't just need money, they need resources now. There are parts that are needed for boilers to do the repairs, there are meters that need to be replaced.
"This is a huge effort, this has resulted in water flowing out of people's ovens, flowing out of people's fires, flowing out of their boilers which should be sealed, and getting past the water meters.
"This is an unprecedented and novel - it has been described to me - incident which really needs some support and action to make sure that we have the right infrastructure on the ground and I don't think it can be left to the local authorities to organise that."
Deputy Commons Speaker Nigel Evans agreed the incident was "appalling" but said he had not been notified of a statement from the Government about it.
Yorkshire Water said the leak had since been fixed although the draining of water is still ongoing.
Chilly conditions are expected to turn even colder across much of the UK later today and through to Thursday as air from the Arctic spreads south across the country.
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Frosty nights are expected, with sub-zero temperatures and widespread frosts which could be severe in some areas.
Forecasters warn today wintry showers will affect northern Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and eastern England, with snow settling on hills in the north.
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