Frozen UK is running out of gas
STORM EMMA & BEAST COLLIDE: FUEL FEARS AMID ICY RAIN Tory advice despite gas warning Death toll reaches 10 as girl killed
THE Beast from the East and Storm Emma have left Britain worryingly short of gas – but the Government urged people not to panic.
The National Grid issued its first “gas deficit warning” in eight years after admitting there was not enough to meet a surge in demand.
Energy minister Claire Perry said the situation is being closely monitored, adding: “So do carry on using your gas heating and cooking meals as normal.”
The storms have now left 10 people dead. A seven-year-old girl, believed to be a pedestrian, was the latest victim.
She died yesterday afternoon in Looe, Cornwall, when a car lost control, left the road and hit a house.
A 46-year-old man, from Southampton, died in a collision on the nearby A34 yesterday morning.
A woman of 75 was found dead near her home in Farsley, West Yorks, during a blizzard.
The OAP, believed to have wandered away from sheltered accommodation where she lived with her husband, was found lying partially under a car.
While in Retford, Notts, a homeless man was discovered dead in his tent in the snow.
There was up to 2ft of snow and 60mph gusts of wind as Storm
Emma collided with the Beast from the East. Conditions are likely to worsen still, due to more snow today and icy rain that is forecast over the weekend.
The most severe weather warnings have been issued. An unprecedented red weather warning for snow was issued in the South West – the first ever for England – and Wales.
Yesterday’s gas shortfall came as temperatures plunged. The energy situation has been made worse by what critics say is a chronic lack of facilities to store gas in the UK.
It is hoped enough can be imported through deep sea pipes. But there are concerns about what will happen the longer the cold spell lasts. Officials stressed that gas supplies to homes would be safeguarded.
A continuing shortfall could lead to big industrial users being asked to cut back. Stuart Fegan, of the GMB, said: “When the National Grid issues a worrying gas warning like this you know things are serious. When the supply is low, energy companies inevitably hike prices to make a quick buck, so we all suffer.”
There was joy among the pain yesterday as a dad knelt by the roadside to deliver his baby in heavy snow.
Andrew Waring was taking wife Daniella to hospital on the A66 near Darlington, Co Durham, when they realised they would not get there in time.
He said: “Having been present at the birth of our two other children I just copied what I had seen then.” Paramedics arrived and took them to hospital.
A man who died after being pulled from frozen water near Welling, South East London, on Wednesday, when he went to save his two dogs has been named as Stephen Cavanagh, 60.
Heavy snow and sub-zero temperatures affected millions yesterday on what meteorologists classed as the first day of spring. By contrast, penguins in Antarctica have been spotted waddling around in snow-free conditions.
Up to 20in was expected to fall overnight yesterday in parts of Britain.
Storm Emma is set to move north today, bringing more misery and chaos.
Lows of -10C are expected, though most areas will be around -4C.