Harrogate gas leak: Town urged to reduce usage amid supply issues

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-58939225

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The Hydro leisure centre is among businesses that was shut due to the leak

Residents have been asked not to turn on central heating or take showers after a major gas leak in their town.

Businesses in Harrogate were evacuated on Friday night after the discovery of the leak in Ripon Road.

It has since been stopped but engineers have warned that non-essential use could reduced the amount of gas available to all customers.

Northern Gas Networks (NGN) said repairs were likely take most of the day before normal supplies could be reintroduced.

About 3,000 people are affected by the work to fix the leak.

Homeowners in the HG1, HG2, HG3 and HG4 postcodes have been asked to avoid using their central heating and taking showers if they have a combi boiler until further notice.

Stuart Armin, of NGN, said: "Our top priority is to keep people safe and restore normal service as quickly as we can."

"It is a complex operation because this is a large pipe which needs some specialist deep excavations to enable the repair work.

"Repairs will probably take most of today, after which we will need to steadily re-introduce gas into the local supply system in a controlled manner before people's supplies can be fully restored."