Silsden gas loss: More than half of homes reconnected

Damage was caused to the mains supply for Silsden by a contractor working on a housing development

Residents who have been without gas supplies for four days in a West Yorkshire town will be reconnected shortly, an energy company said.

Contractors working on a housing scheme severed the mains pipe in the Silsden area, near Bradford, on Friday, affecting more than 3,000 properties.

Supplies are back on at about 2,000 properties, with engineers vowing to reconnect remaining homes on Monday.

Northern Gas Networks described it as the largest incident it had dealt with.

A support centre at St James church hall remains open, with hotplates, fan heaters and food vouchers available to local residents.

Engineers have been drafted in from across the country to help reconnect homes

Barratt, the builder responsible for the Belton Road housing development where the contractors were working, apologised for the inconvenience caused.

Engineers from other gas companies were drafted in to support efforts to reconnect homes.

Speaking to BBC Radio Leeds, Northern Gas Networks spokesperson Eileen Brown said: "We're confident that if all of our customers are in today, we will get their gas back on.

"There will always be a small number of houses we can't get back on, either because the customers are away on holiday or they're just empty properties."