Ratby: Water company asked for answers after gas outage

Cadent engineers pumped large volumes of water from gas pipes daily to fix the issues

A water company has been asked to explain the cause of a burst water pipe which left thousands of homes without gas for days.

Leicestershire County Council has asked Severn Trent for answers after more than 2,700 homes were cut off on 30 January.

Gas was reinstated to the homes, in Ratby and Kirby Muxloe, by Tuesday.

Severn Trent said it is happy to take part in discussions with the council "at an appropriate time".

Leicestershire Resilience Forum - a group of local councils and emergency services - declared a major incident due to the gas outage.

A burst water main flooded the system with a "significant amount of water" which took days to clear, gas company Cadent said.

In a report presented at a meeting of the council's cabinet, concerns were raised over a "significant delay" in Severn Trent's initial response.

Severn Trent was told about the issue at 18:00 GMT on 29 January, but did not arrive on scene until 08:15 the following day, the report said.

Temporary heaters, socks and blankets were handed out to those without gas

Talking at the meeting, the council's assistant chief executive, Tom Purnell, said the body's Tactical Coordinating Group (TCG) is still responding to the incident to ensure Severn Trent "fully understand the seriousness of the incident, giving it the priority it requires and that local residents deserve".

He added that the council wanted to recover the "significant costs" it absorbed during the incident.

Ozzy O'Shea, councillor for Groby and Ratby, praised his constituency, which he said was "one hell of a community".

"Severn Trent really do need to explain why they came late and what happened," he added.

Mr O'Shea also praised Cadent for going "beyond what they needed to" in supporting the two villages.

A Severn Trent spokesperson said: "Our teams remain in the area based in the Ratby Village Hall supporting any customers that need us.

"Investigations into what happened are ongoing, and at the appropriate time we would be happy to take part in a discussion with the council.

"Our priority has always been to make sure people continue to have water and supporting customers now with any faulty appliances."