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EXTRA engineers have been drafted in after Herefordshire homes were left without gas.

Cadent said they had brought in extra engineers in from across their network to get the gas supply restored in the Hampton Bishop area.

Several hundred homes around Hampton Bishop, near Hereford, are believed to be without gas.

Nearby Holme Lacy, Priors Frome, Mordiford and Fownhope are also affected.

Villagers say their meters have been capped by engineers. Capping is a procedure in which meters are blocked for safety reasons.

Cadent said their engineers will be back out today and need to check that the gas supply to each property is turned off.  

"Please DO NOT try to switch off your own supply. Our engineers must do that. They all carry ID – please ask to see their ID before allowing them into your home.  Our engineers will not be offended if you ask to see their ID badge," the company said.

"We stopped knocking on doors around 11pm because we know you want your sleep and we don't wish to be disturb too late at night.    Don't worry, we will be back first thing tomorrow morning. 

"We'll be out again from 8am.  So if you can be at home, that would be really helpful.  If however, you have to go to work, could you leave a key with your neighbour?  Or visit us at Hampton Bishop Village Hall and let us know when you'll be home.  

"If you know of anyone who needs extra assistance at this time please let us know.  Tell one of our engineers or visit us at the Village Hall and we will see what we can do to help them through this incident.  We are here to help, so please ask.

"Once every property's gas supply has been switched off safely, we can then start to get gas back in to our network.  After this is completed, we have to visit every property once more, to carry out our safety checks, before your gas supply can be restored.  This does take some time, so please bear with us.  We will do this process as quickly as possible but we have to ensure it is completed safely.

"Thank you for your patience and kindness you’re already showing our teams on-site. They are working very hard to get you back on gas as quickly as we can."