Gas supply ‘will take days to restore’

Gas workers will take days to reach everyone affected by Falkirk’s gas cut emergency with engineers having to visit every individual house to reconnect supply.

More than 8,000 homes are affected in Bainsford, Carron, Carronshore, Larbert, Langlees, New Carron Village, Skinflats and Stenhousemuir areas of Falkirk.

Temperatures in the Falkirk area were barely above freezing for much of Sunday and were forecast to fall to minus 2C overnight.

Scores of residents took to social media to vent their frustration at what they see as a lack of information about how families with children, or the sick and elderly, are supposed to cope.

Emergency electrical appliances are being made available, but many households will have suffered an entire day without heating or cooking facilities by the time they arrive.

In an update, SGN warned that “with so many homes affected, it’s likely you could be without your gas supply for several days.”

Falkirk Council said it was ready to provide assistance to vulnerable residents. A spokesman said: “We maintain a database of vulnerable elderly people in the area which we can share in situations like this.”