Homes still wait for gas supplies

Families had to queue for emergency heaters and cookers

One hundred homes in north Kent are still without gas, almost a week after supplies were cut off when a burst water main fractured a gas pipe.

Southern Gas Networks said engineers had so far pumped out 130,000 litres of water from the gas network in Hoo.

Up to 1,000 homes in total were without gas, but the company said it hoped to restore supplies to the remaining homes by Tuesday evening.

It said customers whose supplies were cut off would be given compensation.

Families left without supplies were forced to queue to collect emergency electric heaters and cooking appliances.

Engineers had to visit each home to turn off the gas before the problem could be fixed.