Almost 400 homes have been left without gas for more than 24 hours after water made its way into gas pipes.

388 properties in Stanley, County Durham were left with no gas or water on Friday (March 3) afternoon when water found its way into gas pipes in the area.

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Engineers working at the scene started extracting water from the gas pipes on Saturday (March 4) after Northumbrian Water repaired a leaking water main.

As of 8.30pm they had extracted more than 5,000 litres of water from the gas network. Work will continue into the evening and Sunday morning.

But for residents on Kielder Drive, Wooler Drive, Dalby Way and Holly Hill Gardens West in Stanley gas is still yet to be restored (as of 8.30pm) with food vouchers now being handed out by the Northern Gas Network (NGN).

Food vouchers are available for affected customers from the customer drop-in centre at St Mary’s RC Primary School.

A mobile catering van will be positioned outside the school on Sunday morning from 9am accepting food vouchers which will also be taken at the South Stanley Partnership from 9am until 1pm and UK Pizza on Middles Road from 4pm.

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NGN Incident Controller Warren Iveson said: “We are working as quickly and as safely as we can to ensure the issue is resolved as soon as possible.

“Further excavations will be carried out tonight to provide access to the gas mains as we continue extracting water at different points using the specialist equipment. We apologise for any inconvenience while we work, and once again thank customers for their continued patience and support during this process.

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“The customer drop-in centre will be open from 8.30am tomorrow (Sunday March 5) with hot plates, heaters and food vouchers available for additional food outlets.”

A spokesperson for Northumbrian Water said: “Yesterday we received reports of a burst on a four-inch water main on Kielder Drive, Stanley, County Durham. Our teams attended quickly and carried out a repair on the main.

"Although the burst did not impact the supply of water to customers, water from the burst has ingressed into a nearby gas main. Customers can be assured we are working closely with Northern Gas Networks to resolve the issue. We apologise to any customers impacted by this."