Residents offered food vouchers after mystery loss of gas in Barlby and Osgodby

Northern Gas Networks (NGN) says engineers have so far visited more than 1,100 properties in Barlby and Osgodby, near Selby, to safely turn off the gas supply at the meter so that work can take place to get customers back on gas.

"In the meantime, customers are advised to turn the gas supply off at the meter," said a spokeswoman.

She said engineers were continuing to investigate the cause of the loss.

"NGN has set up an incident room at Osgodby Village Institute, Cliffe Road, YO8 5HU, where the team are on hand to provide information and advice," she said.

"Heaters and hotplates are also available for those that need them.  Hot shower facilities are also now available for residents at Selby Leisure Centre on Scott Rd, Selby YO8 4BL."

She said NGN was temporarily providing some residents with electric heating and cooking appliances to support them while they were without gas, but warned that the use of these appliances would increase demand on the local electricity network.

"If the electricity network is significantly overloaded it could cause damage and result in a power cut for you and your neighbours which may take some time to repair," she said.

"To help reduce the risk of this happening, particularly at a time when our customers are also temporarily without gas, please ensure you:

minimise the use of appliances and switch off or unplug any electrical equipment that you do not need and heat only essential rooms,

stagger the use of high-demand electrical appliances such as cookers, heaters, kettles, immersion heaters, electric showers, dishwashers, tumble driers and washing machines."

She said food was now available at the following locations: Abbey Café, 46 Micklegate, Selby, YO8 4EQ – open from 8am – 3pm daily, Abbey Fisheries, 61 Gowthorpe, Selby, YO8 4HE –  open at 11am this morning, and a mobile burger van onsite at the Village Institute, Fast Feast (Burgers)  from 4pm today.

"Residents will be given food vouchers," said the spokeswoman.

Steve Pigott, Business Operations Lead for Northern Gas Networks, said: “Our engineers were called to the Barlby and Osgodby areas, Selby at 5.30pm yesterday (18 December) following reports of a loss of supply to a number of properties.  

"We are working hard to restore gas supplies to customers as quickly and as safely as possible and are investigating the cause the incident.

“In order to do this, we will need to be able to access every property to safely turn off the gas supply at the meter.

“We have identified our most vulnerable customers in the area and are ensuring that they are looked after as a priority.

“We thank everyone for your patience and cooperation and apologise for this inconvenience.”

"Customer Care Officers are available to talk to residents and if any of our customers need extra support, such as heaters or hotplates, they can ask for assistance or call our Customer Care team on 0800 040 7766, option 3.

"Our Customer Care team can also be reached by emailing customercare@northerngas.co.uk.

"Anyone that smells gas or suspects carbon monoxide should call the National Gas Emergency Service immediately on 0800 111 999. This line is in operation 24-hours a day, seven days a week."