Town's gas restored after day-long supply problem

A town's gas supply has been fully restored after hundreds of people were left without for several hours earlier in the day due to an issue with pressurisation.

Northern Gas Networks (NGN) said about 750 customers living in Ilkley were affected by the issue on Friday, but it was resolved by about 18:00 GMT.

Many homes had been left with no heating and Bradford Council said Ben Rhydding Primary had to shut for the day due to the problem.

Chris Green, NGN's business operations manager, said: “This afternoon, we repressurised the local network to restore normal gas pressure to the area, so customers will now be able to use their gas supply as normal."

Mr Green added that about 750 customers in Ilkley had reported poor gas pressure in the LS29 8 and LS29 9 areas on Friday morning and a team from NGN was "quickly on site to investigate the issue".

“Our customer care team has been door-knocking the area throughout today, to visit vulnerable customers and Priority Services Registered customers, and make sure their gas is working as normal," he said.

Anyone who was previously advised to turn their gas supply off at the emergency control valve could now restore their own supply, according to Mr Green.

“Customers who need additional help can call our team on 0800 040 7766, option 4, and we can send an engineer to support them," he said.

NGN said it had also set up a customer support hub at the Craiglands Hotel on Cowpasture Road, where heaters and hot plates were available for collection.

Any staff attending affected properties would carry proper identification with them and people should check before letting anyone into their homes, a spokesperson said.

A mock GCSE exam was cancelled at Ilkley Grammar School on Friday morning because the sports hall could not be heated due to the gas supply issue.

The Year 11 pupils were subsequently told that the test would be rescheduled.

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