Hundreds of homes and businesses have been left without gas after water flooded into the gas network in a district of Sheffield.
It is believed that at least 1,000 properties have been affected after a water main burst on Friday night in the Stannington district of Sheffield, leaving lots of water in the local gas network.
On Saturday, Cadent gas company said the problem would take "a number of days" to sort out and that engineers and customer support teams are moving door to door to locate the affected properties.
The company now faces "a big task to remove all this water from the gas mains" as it must remove every drop from the outside gas mains, as well as the pipes that go into each property, gas meters, boilers and appliances.
This is both for safety and to remove risk of gas going off again due to water blocking the flow.
It said it needs to remove all the water before being able to turn the gas back on.
Extra engineers have been brought in from outside the area to help with the removal of water and to visit the affected properties.
A Cadent spokesman said: "A water main burst last night and we now have large volumes of water in the local gas network.
"Unfortunately, this means many homes in and around the Stannington area of Sheffield are without gas - water is where the gas should be.
"We mobilised lots of engineers and support staff to the area today, including colleagues from as far as north-west England and East Midlands.
"They're working as quickly as they safely can to remove this water and get people back on gas.
"This is a big task and is likely to take a number of days."
Efforts are being made to help people who are vulnerable.
The spokesman added: "We know it's difficult and frustrating for customers to be without gas.
"We continue to have a large presence in the area tonight and will do so again tomorrow, for as long as this takes, until we have gas flowing again safely into people's homes."
Anna Graffiti, crisis response manager at the British Red Cross, said its "volunteers have been deployed to door-knock homes without gas, prioritising those most vulnerable to provide emotional and practical support."
