"We were told there could be an explosion": Bedford resident still without gas as company vows to restore supply

As thousands of people in Great Denham wait to get their gas supply restored after two days, one resident has spoken of her distress.

On Wednesday, Cadent attended what it described as an emergency situation and were forced to cut off the supply of gas to their network.

And as the company investigated the cause, villagers were informed of the problem with one being told there could be an explosion.

The resident – who moved to Great Denham two years ago – said: "Someone from the gas company knocked on my door and said he needed to turn off the gas supply.

"I asked what the problem was and was told they were going round personally to all 2,000 homes in Great Denham to turn off gas as there could be an explosion.

"It sounded a bit dramatic but I must admit I was worried. This all happened around tea time and he said they were delivering hot meals to families with children who use gas to cook.

"It's been two days now and the gas still isn't back on. It's a good job it isn't winter."

By yesterday (Thursday), engineers started to turn gas supplies back on at the gas meter.

And today, Cadent has confirmed on its website it will be on site throughout the weekend.

The resident added she’s been told engineers are going to have to return to each individual house to turn the gas back on once the issue is fixed.

In a letter from Cadent to Great Denham councillor Jim Weir, the company said the homes affected are new build properties connected to an Independent Gas Transporter (IGT) network.

Arnie Craven, head of external affairs (East), said: “In broad terms, this is a section of the gas network which was not constructed by Cadent (or predecessors, back to our original incarnation as the gas board) but instead built and operated by a third party. It appears a governor on that IGT network has developed a fault.

“We are working closely with the IGT to support them in rectifying this problem. We are first supporting the IGT to turn off every affected property’s gas supply at the meter. Once this is done, the governor can be repaired and then gas can be restored.”