Majority of 600 homes in Witham still without gas - Cadent

Engineers arrived back on site on Friday morning

Only 100 out of 600 homes have been reconnected to gas after a fault led to supplies being switched off.

Cadent turned off the gas to the properties in Witham, Essex, and sent about 30 engineers to the site on Thursday evening.

Daniel Ridlington, area manager for the firm, said gas had been restored to some 100 properties by Saturday morning.

He said engineers hoped to reconnect most homes by the end of the weekend.

Some 25 roads in the King Edward Way area were without supplies.

A boiler showed a fault as the gas had been turned off at the mains

Cadent, which looks after much of the UK network, said it was really important that people were at home to ensure engineers could enter.

"If people are away, if they could contact neighbours and friends to help us gain access, that would really assist us," said Mr Ridlington.

"We're completing this in phases and are trying to establish supply as quickly as possible.

"With hard work, we are going to get supplies on to a third of the people by the end of today [Saturday].

"As long as people are in, we are going to hope to get the majority of people back on by the end of the weekend."

The firm added it would not leave the site until all customers "were back on gas".

The roads have been dug up in several areas

Vulnerable customers registered have been contacted and offered heating and cooking facilities., Cadent said.

Two customer support areas have also been set up on the estate.

It is not yet known what caused the incident, although engineers were carrying out repairs to a mains in the area when the fault occurred.

Residents were seen queuing for hot food