Town hit by 'dirty' gas

Particles were found in the town's gas supply

South Devon householders are counting the cost after so-called "dirty gas" stopped their boilers working.

After cold weather in January, about 25 households in Ashburton found their boilers packed up without warning.

It was found that gas contaminated with particles was the cause of the problem.

Transco has confirmed it is investigating and that homes in four streets have been affected.

About 25 households were affected in Ashburton

Plumber Chas Ryan said: "In a two-hour period, I had about 10 boilers fail in a specific area.

"I realised it wasn't a problem with the boilers. It had to be another common denominator - the gas."

Camilla McHugh was affected twice by the problem.

She said: "The second time it went out I had a daughter sick at home and I was six months pregnant. I had a freezing cold house and it was very irritating."

All those affected had new boilers, which are highly sensitive and would not let in dirty gas.

Chas Ryan said it is a difficult problem to investigate.

He said: "They don't know where it came from because they have filters that are regularly checked.

"There was no dirt in there, so it must've been, I think, on the town side of a governor station.

Warranty repairs

"It's probably an old rusty pipe somewhere. It would have been there for some time and suddenly got released.

"The chances of it happening again are remote because the mains are fairly clean."

Most of those affected have had repair costs met by the manufacturers because they were still under warranty.

However, Camilla McHugh's company, Biasi, said because it is not their fault, she must pay £400 for the new parts needed for the boiler.

Transco has said all claims have been referred to its loss adjusters.