Stannington: Angry residents interrupt press conference to quiz company bosses at scene of gas flood in Sheffield

LIndsey Hudson, of High Matlock Road, Stannington, was finding puddles in her kitchen days after the burst which flooded the gas network on Friday night, leaving 2,000 homes without heating or hot water – including hers.

When her skin had a reaction she contacted Yorkshire Water to ask what chemicals could be in the outflow but says the firm ‘didn’t want to know’.

She was one of two members of the public who angrily interrupted a press conference organised by company bosses in the village. In front of journalists, she disputed Yorkshire Water boss Neil Dewis’s account of the firm’s response.

She said: “There haven’t been any Yorkshire Water people on the ground in Stannington. They are the root cause of this, so why aren’t they handing out food and blankets?”

She told The Star: “I think it’s disgraceful. Yorkshire Water has a duty of care to customers when there has been a catastrophic problem. I wanted to speak up for other people who are vulnerable.”

At the press conference, Tim Jones said his elderly mum Edna was still without heating and loudly accused Yorkshire Water of being more interested in shareholders.

Neil Dewis, director of water at Yorkshire Water, said the pipe that burst on Bankfield Lane dated back to 1970 and had ruptured once before, 10 years ago. He did not comment on villagers’ claims of nine leaks in Stannington in the last year but said the firm had spent £15m on the network ‘in the Sheffield area’.

They had 50 staff in the village including plumbers, ‘dig teams’ and customer service workers, he added.

Richard Sansom of gas company Cadent said they had reconnected 750 homes and had 1080 to go. As well as Stannington, there are affected properties in Walkley and 153 in Malin Bridge which are unlikely to have gas until Saturday.

Mr Sansom said they were pumping out a kilometre of water in a large gas main on Penistone Road.

Andy Bilclough, of Northern Powergrid, said there had been three power cuts due to overloading as people used electric heaters and hot plates. The firm had hired three catering vans to give away free food to reduce demand on the system.

Kate Josephs, of Sheffield City Council, urged residents to check on friends, family and neighbours and continue Stannington’s ‘amazing community spirit’.

Local MP Olivia Blake said she met the chief executive of Yorkshire Water on Tuesday to pressure him to do more.

He had ‘a lot of questions to answer’ on the cause of the burst, response times and about making sure it couldn’t happen again. She would also be seeking clarity on compensation.

Mum-of-two Lindsey Hudson described the first moments of the gas flood.

Late on Friday they heard ‘rumbling’ and neighbours shouting. She smelled gas in the house and roused the family and they all went out into the street.

She said: “It was really frightening, hearing the neighbours shouting us to get out and seeing black soot water gushing from my range. There was masses of it.”