Thousands still without gas after pipes flooded

Cadent Gas says it is working hard to restore gas to all those affected

"You get your hopes up that the gas is coming back and then it doesn't," said Tina Korhonen, who has been without gas in her north London home since 12 January.

About 2,000 properties in the Muswell Hill area remain without gas after a burst water main flooded into gas pipes.

With four blankets piled on her bed, Ms Korhonen said the lack of hot water was the worst thing about the halted gas supply.

Cadent Gas, which manages the UK's National Gas Emergency Service, said it was working hard to restore the supply and had pumped more than 33,000 litres of water out of the gas network.

Affinity Water said an investigation into how the water entered Cadent's infrastructure was under way.

'People have been generous'

Alison Elangasinghe, 44, said her gas was turned back on at 22:15 GMT on Sunday. But not everybody on her road was reconnected.

"We feel quite lucky," the mother of two said. "It is not so good for other people still."

Ms Elangasinghe said during the week her family were offered hot showers by local friends who still had heating.

"People have been really generous," she said.

A customer support team is in operation at the Freehold Community Centre

Street-based chat groups have been busy, with neighbours lending support where they can.

"A lot of people have been really panicky and worried," Ms Elangasinghe added. "It's not a normal thing to happen and a lack of timeline is sometimes frustrating."

Ms Korhonen said the situation had created a greater sense of community on her street.

"We have a really good street WhatsApp group. There has been jokes and lots of information," she said.

"Someone offered to cook for me as well."

Vicky Grieve, from Cadent Gas, said supply had been restored to about a third of the affected homes

About a third of the homes affected have had their supply restored, said Vicky Grieve, Cadent Gas's director of network for the east of England.

"The size and scale of it is a really complex thing," she said. "We've had to segregate the network into 15 zones so we can introduce the gas back into networks."

Cadent hopes to restore the supply to the remaining properties by the weekend, but this is dependent on its engineers being able to access each home to complete safety checks.

"I fully appreciate how difficult and disruptive it is to be without gas," Ms Grieve added.

"We really are working hard to ensure we get the gas on safely."

A spokesperson for Affinity Water said customers should follow updates issued by Cadent Gas.

"While Cadent is managing the process of resolving the situation within their network, we remain fully committed to assisting them and supporting the local community throughout the restoration process," they said.

Additional reporting by Ayshea Buksh