Homes left without gas after pipe damaged on building site in Chippenham
Wales and West Utilities say a third party was working in the area and damaged a pipe
Last updated 12th Feb 2025
A number of homes in Chippenham were left without gas last night, due to a gas leak.
Wales and West Utilities say they were called to reports of a gas leak at a building site in the Foundry Lane area of Chippenham yesterday afternoon and immediately sent engineers to investigate.
After working through the night, Wales and West Utilities has confirmed that the leak has been stopped, with engineers working on a full repair.
The leak is said to have been caused by a third-party hitting a gas main at a nearby building site.
Josh Williams-Trim, Wales & West Utilities Operational Manager for Chippenham said:
“Our team worked late into last night in the Foundry Lane area of Chippenham in response to the gas leak that has been caused by a third party working in the area.
“This involved them isolating the leak on the pipe and also doing door to door visits to properties whose gas supplies had been affected by the leak. They also provided alternative cooking and heating facilities to vulnerable customers. We also sent text messages to customers to inform them of the situation, where we have numbers for them.
“Our team is continuing with the door to door visits this morning and also commencing work on the repair which is a complex operation. We do not have an anticipated time for repair as yet but will inform customers as soon as we do have a time.
“We have been providing alternative heating and cooking facilities to vulnerable people in the area that we are aware of, but if anyone needs assistance or knows of a neighbour, relative or friend who may need this support, please let us know.
“We would like to thank local people for bearing with us while we continue work to get the gas flowing again.”
Homes being reconnected on Wednesday afternoon
Wales and West Utilities has told us they've been able to reconfigure the network to allow them to restore supplies to homes in the affected area.
Martyn Pallant, Wales & West Utilities Network Service Manager said:
“Our team has worked through the morning to identify a way of restoring gas to customers in the area, as the required repair to the pipe is complex and could take some time. The pipe was damaged by a third party contractor working in the area.
“We have identified a way of reconfiguring how the system operates so that we can bring gas into the affected area which avoids the damaged section of pipe. This means that we are now able to now start restoring gas supplies to customers in a phased manner This will take some time as we need to ensure we maintain pressure in the pipe as we bring customers back on.
“Our engineers will visit all properties affected to ensure gas is safely restored to each one. Customers do not need to contact us to arrange a visit as our engineers are aware of the properties, but we do ask customers to be patient as we will need undertake the work in phases.
“We would like to thank local people for their continued patience while we continue work to get the gas flowing again.”
You can contact Wales and West Utilities on 0800 912 2999 or by [email protected].
Alternatively, you can contact them on X @WWUtilities or Facebook.com/wwutilities.