Stannington: Doncaster MP Ed Miliband visits Sheffield residents still without heating two weeks after 'gas flood' incident

The Shadow Secretary of State for Climate Change, who is also MP for Doncaster North, joined Sheffield Hallam MP Olivia Blake on Thursday to meet residents in Stannington, where some are still without heating 14 days after an unprecedented ‘gas leak’.

On December 2, a Yorkshire Water high-pressure mains pipe burst and tore into gas pipes belonging to Cadent Gas Ltd. The disaster knocked out gas and heating for up to 2,000 homes and left thousands of people without heatingo hot water, and, in some cases, electricity. Work is still ongoing to repair it. More than 1.5million litres of water have been pumped out of the gas pipes over the past week.

In a joint statement, Ms Blake and Mr Miliband are calling for action over the UK’s “aging” water infrastructure.

On December 7, five days after the burst, Sheffield City Council declared the problem in Stannington an emergency incident so it could more easily coordinate a Government response. It included distributing heaters and deploying extra vehicles to the area to help with pumping water out of the pipes.

Olivia Blake, the MP for Sheffield Hallam and previously the Shadow Minister for Nature, Water and Flooding, has been in Stannington all week speaking to residents.

She said: “It's been a complete disaster. I’ve heard horror stories all week from constituents, many of whom are already vulnerable, who have been freezing in their homes without heating, unable to shower or eat warm food. They feel ignored and let down by the Government.

“The UK has some of the oldest water infrastructure in the world. If action isn’t taken to maintain and upgrade old water pipes it won’t be long until something like this happens again. Serious lessons must be learnt and urgent action taken by Yorkshire Water so that no community has to go through the devastation that ours has.”

Ed Miliband, the Shadow Secretary of State for Climate Change and Net Zero, said: It's incredibly shocking what residents have gone through at this incredibly cold time of year. We’ve heard from people this morning about what an incredibly difficult few weeks it has been and its continuing for many people.”