Thousands of homes and businesses in north London have been left without gas after water flooded pipes.
Engineers are having to go door to door at around 3,000 properties in Muswell Hill, Friern Barnet and North Finchley to ensure the gas is safely switched off after a water pipe burst leading to water in the gas network.
Over 100 engineers and support staff remained in the area on Monday morning to switch off the gas supply in each property that has been hit.
Affinity Water has repaired its broken water pipe and Cadent Gas said it has repaired its damaged gas pipe to ensure no more water enters the gas network.
The gas company said it aims to safely turn the gas back on at each property affected on Monday and it will also start pumping water out of the gas network.
Cadent Gas explained it would not be able to restore gas until the water has been pumped out of the gas network.
Vicky Grieve, Network Director for Cadent and incident controller, said: “Cadent has been made aware of a loss of gas in the N10 area of North London. Our engineers are on site to investigate the cause and make attempts to resolve the situation.
“Early indications show that water has entered our gas pipes. A number of customers have contacted us to let us know that they are affected, but at this stage, it is too early to say how many properties will be without gas.
“Our teams will be on hand in the N10 area to continue to manage the situation, and we will be working with the local community to support our customers.
“We will continue to communicate with all of those affected so that they understand what is happening, and what support they can receive while we carry out this work. We are also working closely with Affinity Water and other agencies.
“Finally, as we are still in the early stages, I would ask residents and business owners for their patience whilst we work to resolve this incident.”