It has been one year since the fiasco of the Stannington gas flood in Sheffield.
At 11pm on December 2, 2022, a burst Yorkshire Water main tore into a Cadent Gas pipe, causing some 200,000 litres to enter the area's gas system in an "unprecedented" incident.
Shocked residents watched in bafflement as water poured out of their gas hobs, metres and appliances.
By the end, more than 3,000 homes were affected, with thousands of families left without power or hot water.
Because repairs required manually turning off the supply at homes, it took 14 days for all repairs to be complete. During that time, many residents felt they were forced to stay in their freezing homes in case it was their day for engineers to come knocking.
It also saw many heartwarming stories of community spirit in the area as residents pulled together to check on their neighbours and help each other through the disaster.
In the gallery below, The Star has recapped the timeline of the fiasco in pictures, which even a year later still has not seen the publication of an independent investigation by Yorkshire Water into what happened.
The Star asked Yorkshire Water when the findings of an independent investigation - which was announced by CEO Nicola Shaw in December 2022 - into the fiasco would be published.
In response, a Yorkshire Water spokesperson said: “Since the water ingress incident in Stannington and Malin Bridge last year, we’ve been working with local communities to get everything back to how it was. We know this was a very challenging incident for local residents to go through, and we’re sorry for all the disruption this caused.
"After the incident, we committed to an independent review as it’s important that we carefully examine what happened during the incident and learn from it. Determining the exact cause of the burst water pipe and subsequent gas outage is incredibly difficult and this review is still underway by independent forensic investigators.
"We’re working closely with those investigators and Cadent to understand the technical learnings and have already put a number of improvements in place. We expect to understand more about the findings in the coming months.
“When we were handed over the customers who had previously been dealing with Cadent for outstanding repairs, we did everything we could to get those remaining customers sorted as quickly as possible. We’ve paid out almost £1million in compensation to local residents alongside the initial automatic payment we gave to homeowners for the additional costs they faced at the time.
“We’ve also invested in our water network to reduce the risk of this happening again in future. We’ve replaced the section of pipe that had burst last December and installed the new section of pipe away from the gas main, which was laid after the original water pipe was in place.
"We’ve also installed new technology in the area that help us to manage pressure fluctuations, monitor for leaks and improve resilience on the network. This provides real time insights to help us reduce leaks and allow us to respond quicker to bursts.”
1. One year on from the Stannington gas flood
It has been one year since thousands of families were left without power or hot water by the "unprecedented" Stannington gas flood, when a burst water mains burst caused water to pour out of residents' gas appliances.
2. Water pours out of hobs, gas metres and appliances
At around 11pm on Friday, December 2, 2023, residents in Stannington were shocked to see water pouring out of their hobs, gas meters and appliance. More than 3,000 homes were affected as both power and hot water were knocked out for for thousands of people, many of whom were now in for days or weeks without heating. Pictured here is water pouring out of a gas meter. Photo: UGC
3. "Black soot water"
Lindsey Hudson had 'black soot water' coming out of her hob, and was "finding puddles in her kitchen for days". She also said her skin had a reaction to the water, prompting her to ask Yorkshire Water if any chemicals could be present. While it was initially estimated 1,000 homes were affected, by the end of the incident the final number was more than 3,000 across Stannington, Hillsborough and Malin Bridge. Photo: National World
4. "Unprecedented"
It emerged the issue was that a water mains by Yorkshire Water burst under the road at the junction of Bankfield Lane and Sheldon Road. The force of it ruptured a nearby Cadent Gas pipe, causing approximately 200,000 litres of water to flood the system in an "unprecedent gas flood" - and the solution would requiring stopping at every house affected individually to ensure their system was clear. Pictured is the temporary emergency HQ for Cadent Gas and Yorkshire Water workers at Lomas Hall, Stannington, Sheffield. Photo: Jon Cooper