‘Angels in orange’ overwhelmed by community response in Wirksworth

• Cadent staff overwhelmed by messages of support and goodwill from Wirksworth residents
• Major operation to restore gas to 900 homes and businesses who lost gas after burst water main flooded the town’s gas network
• Vast majority of homes and businesses back on gas

Staff at gas network company Cadent have been overwhelmed by messages of support and goodwill from residents in Wirksworth, Derbyshire, as they battled to get some 900 homes and businesses back on gas.
 
Cadent engineers - dubbed ‘angels in orange’ by one resident – worked tirelessly to restore gas supplies after a burst water main flooded the town’s gas pipe network last Tuesday (8 October) night.
 
Some 150 Cadent engineers and support staff were drafted from across the Midlands, East Anglia and the North West, in a major operation. They worked around the clock, pumping out thousands of litres of water and knocking on the door of every affected property to turn the gas off and then returning to switch the gas back on once the network was clear of water.
 
Cadent has now restored gas supplies to the vast majority of properties. There are a number of properties where engineers have not been able to gain access. Visits continued this morning (15 October). Staff have visited every property at least three times and have left cards in those homes where no-one was in. Residents are asked to call us when they return home and we will send an engineer to switch the gas on and make vital safety checks.
 
Our incident support vehicle is on site until lunchtime today (15 October) but if anyone has problems with their gas supply or appliances after we reconnected them, they can call us on 0800 111 999 (all calls are recorded and may be monitored). We will continue to maintain a presence in the town over the next few weeks, as we complete checks and carry out any further remedial work on the gas network
 
Everyone who lost gas will receive a letter regarding compensation for loss of gas. Householders are entitled to £60 for every 24 hours they were off gas while businesses will receive £100 per 24 hours off gas. This will be paid directly to them via their gas suppliers. People can find out more under the FAQs tab on Cadent’s incident webpage: https://cadentgas.com/emergencies/gas-network-incidents/incidents/water-in-gas-pipes-wirksworth
 
If anyone has any enquiries relating to the incident they can contact us on 0345 835 1111.
 
Director of Cadent’s East Network, Darren Elsom, who led the restoration effort, said: “The response from the community of Wirksworth was nothing short of amazing. Despite being without heating and hot water for a number of days, residents were incredibly patient and appreciative of our efforts to get them back on gas.
 
“From supportive comments on Facebook – one lady described us as ‘angels in orange’ – to donations of biscuits and treats for the teams, a free lunch for our engineers provided by Antony Gell School and even an invitation to take part in the town’s carnival, people could not have been more understanding and accommodating.
 
“Water in a gas network is particularly challenging. Engineers have to make sure every drop of water has been removed so we are very grateful for people’s patience.
 
“Our thanks go to everyone in Wirksworth for their patience and kind comments (not to mention the cakes and biscuits), to Derbyshire County Council for all their assistance, to Antony Gell School, Wirksworth Town Council and to Lockwood’s.”

Pictured left to right, Cadent engineers, Glen Harrold, Billy Piggott, Steve Pilkington and John Hopkinson. Below, Cadent engineers in Wirksworth, outside the company's mobile command unit.