KIRKBY Lonsdale shivered amid sub-zero temperatures when around 800 customers lost their gas supply on Sunday.

Residential homes kept their elderly residents warm with electric heaters, hot drinks and extra blankets, and some restaurants had to serve limited menus to diners as they found themselves without gas hobs and central heating.

Jeanette Jackson for Transco, the company which looks after the gas pipeline system, said the gas went off around 6.30am and teams of engineers were drafted in immediately to tackle the problem and get people reconnected.

The fault lay with a piece of equipment which reduces gas pressure in towns and villages.

Most people had their gas supply back on by 11pm on Sunday, apart from those householders who were away.

Transco apologises for the inconvenience and is investigating the cause of the problem.

January 6, 2003 13:00