Calls soar due to ‘beast from east’

HINCKLEY based gas distributer Cadent recorded its highest number of calls in one day thanks to the recent Siberian blast - the so-called “beast from the east”.

This month’s cold snap saw the emergency lines buzzing at the Cadent HQ on Coventry Road.

Ring-ins rocketed with people reporting gas escapes and carbon monoxide leaks - the reason for the 24 hour service - but frantic families were also bemoaning broken boilers, hot water fails and central heating halts.

Thursday March 1 saw staff deal with 42,000 calls - more than double the previous record of 18,000 in one day in December 2010.

Meanwhile Friday March 2 whipped up 27,000 calls, finally dropping to 10,000 on Saturday and 4,700 on Sunday - although still twice the normal call volumes.

Mark Belmega, head of customer performance at Cadent, said: “Our people rose to the occasion magnificently. Not only did our customer centre employees put in extra hours but we also drafted in trained staff from across the business, who put their day-jobs on hold to man the phones.

“It is very important people call the emergency gas service only if they suspect a gas escape or carbon monoxide leak.

“If you have a broken down boiler or a problem with other gas appliances you should call your service contract provider directly or their gas supplier. Alternatively, call a Gas Safe registered engi- neer to fix the appliance problem. Phone the Gas Safe Register on 0800 408 5500 to find a local engineer or visit www.gassaferegister.co.uk/find-anengineer.”

The National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999 provides 24-7 cover to maintain safe and reliable gas supplies in all weathers and should not be used for boiler or other gas central heating problems.

If issues do occur here are a few handy tips Cadent want to share:

To thaw frozen boiler pipes, hold a hot water bottle, or heat wrap, around the pipe; alternatively, pour hot, NOT boiling, water over the frozen end of the pipe.

If the boiler fires up, it’s fixed. If it doesn’t, then pour hot water on the pipe again. If your pipes are still frozen, call your supplier.