Stannington gas pipe flood: Yorkshire Water announces independent inquiry

The gas network was flooded with water on 2 December

Yorkshire Water has announced an independent investigation into the cause of how water from a burst pipe leaked into a Sheffield gas main.

More than 3,000 homes in Stannington were left without heating, hot water and cooking facilities for two weeks following the incident on 2 December.

Cadent Gas said gas supplies had been restored to all affected properties.

The water company said it did not believe "water came out of our pipe" as a result of negligence.

It said the water main was isolated within four hours of the burst.

People living in the area saw water gushing out of cookers and gas meters following ingress into the main late at night.

Edna Jones, one of the affected residents, said the loss of heating had been "horrendous"

Cadent Gas said it had removed more than a million litres of water from gas pipes in an area spanning four miles.

"While we do get water ingress incidents like this occasionally, the volumes we're talking about here are way above the norm," said Richard Sansom, the company's director of the South Yorkshire and East Midlands network.

Nicola Shaw, chief executive officer of Yorkshire Water, said: "There is a misapprehension that water came out of our pipe as a result of negligence on Yorkshire Water's part.

"We will have an independent investigation, but with the information we have at present, we do not believe that is likely to be the case."

She said water escaped from the main via a hole where "a fitting had been displaced", adding the pipe had not been recently excavated and was "working as it should".

"Typically, something needs to happen to remove such a fitting - it needs to have internal or external force applied to it. We don't yet know how that happened," said Ms Shaw.

The gas network was flooded with 1.3 million litres of water at the start of December

"There will be a detailed and independent investigation into the incident involving all relevant parties.

"This will include things like understanding what caused the fitting to move, as well as how water was able to flow through such a large area of gas pipes."

Ms Shaw said affected customers would receive compensation from the company and encouraged them to submit an application form.

She also said customers in Stannington and Hillsborough would receive "an initial automatic payment to cover any increased electricity usage customers have had to face".