Homes remain without gas after main caught fire

Hundreds of homes remain without gas after a main caught fire.

Buckinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service said the main on Lowndes Way, Winslow, started at about 18:20 BST on Wednesday and destroyed a nearby digger.

Gas distribution company SGN said its "progress has been slower than we hoped" after water entered the gas pipes during the incident and while they worked to remove it they had to shut off the gas supply for about 800 properties.

In an update issued on Friday evening, it said it had so far extracted more than 30,000 litres of water from the network in Winslow and that efforts would continue on Saturday.

SGN said an investigation was taking place but it was "too early to know what caused the incident".

It said: "In many properties, the water has made its way into individual service pipes and meters".

About 382 properties remain without gas, but the supplier repeated a warning for residents to not try to turn their own gas supply back on as it could risk getting water into appliances and damaging them.

A customer information centre will be located at Winslow Public Hall from 09:00, it said.

SGN added that compensation will be available to people impacted by the issue. A further update is expected later on Saturday.

By Thursday night, some 15,000 litres of water had been removed from gas pipes