Residents who struggled to keep warm in last night's freezing temperatures after a massive blast left them without gas were today demanding compensation.

A workman examines a main following excavations at the scene of the blaze

About 1,400 homes in Clifton were cut off after a major leak in a gas main in Rawcliffe Lane sparked a fireball which ripped up the road and sent flames leaping 40ft into the air.

By noon today, the gas supply had been restored to 150 of the homes.

About 70 firefighters were called in to tackle the blaze and 300 residents had to be evacuated from the danger-zone, with nearly 100 taking shelter at nearby Canon Lee School.

Last night, while engineers from gas pipeline company Transco battled to repair the burst main and restore supplies, some residents were left to huddle round electric heaters to keep warm.

Transco had supplied electric heaters and cookers to 30 elderly or sick residents.

With the repair eventually complete, the gas supply to the network was back on at about 10.30 last night.

For safety reasons, supplies could not simply be switched back on by residents, and a team of 35 Transco engineers began visiting homes to restore supplies from 7am today.

At Chelkar Way today, as his gas supply came back on, semi-retired chef Chris Gilham was packing up electric heaters he had borrowed from relatives to keep his family warm through the night.

He said: "Besides the general inconvenience, I am worried about how big my electricity bill will be.

"That is my biggest concern and I would like to know if Transco are going to do anything to address that."

At around 10pm, a power cut which lasted around 45 minutes dealt a further blow to the Gilham's and their neighbours.

Mr Gilham said a Northern Electric operator had told him it was because the extraordinary demand for power from people using electric appliances had melted fuses in a nearby sub station.

At Leighton Croft, Lib Dem councillor Simon Tarry was battling the cold with a hot air heater while he waited for Transco engineers to put his supply back on.

He said: "We have been without gas for around 28 hours and there needs to be some form of compensation not just for the inconvenience but for the trauma suffered by those living near the scene."

Coun Tarry joked that, in the light of the mass cut-off, residents had dubbed the area, Clifton Without, as "Clifton Without gas".

Transco spokesman John O'Grady said today he was confident the vast majority of homes would have their gas back by the end of the day.

He said that any claims for compensation by affected residents should be sent to the gas suppliers not Transco.

Last night's work to replace the five-foot long section of mains pipe that burst had been hampered by rain filling the 8ft-deep excavation where engineers were working.

Mr O'Grady said the blast had been caused by gas escaping from a burst plastic pipe on the main.

While rumours are rife that a dropped cigarette or a spark from an underground cable caused the fireball, Mr the cause of ignition was not yet known.

EVENING PRESS STORIES AND PICTURES 14/01/00

Wall of flame

The night our street exploded

City residents left stunned by blaze

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.