A SHEEPRIDGE resident says action should be taken about a gas smell which has blighted her street for a month.

Residents in Catherine Road in Sheepridge reported the smell on December 21.

Kathleen Simmons told the Examiner: “I reported it before Christmas because it’s very bad just outside my house – it smells horrible.

“Northern Gas said they had no idea when it was going to be fixed, all we could do is try to make sure the smell doesn’t get in our houses.

“We’ve seen them coming and looking at it but something needs to be done.”

A spokeswoman for Northern Gas Networks said: “There is a very small gas escape on Catherine Road.

“We would like to reassure residents that the area is completely safe and our expert engineers will continue to monitor the leak until they are able to carry out a full repair.

“When we received a call about this escape we were experiencing the longest sustained cold spell in recent memory which resulted in a huge increase in the number of calls to the National Gas Emergency Service.

“Call volumes to our network trebled and we had to prioritise jobs dealing with the most urgent escapes first and safely managing others where possible to do so.

“We received a call regarding this escape on December 21, our busiest day on record, and sent an engineer out in the early hours of December 22 to investigate.

“He recorded very low gas readings and lifted manhole covers to allow gas to vent safely into the air – which will account for any faint smell of gas in the immediate area.

“We have visited almost every day since this escape was reported and we are managing it safely and in accordance with the guidelines set out by our regulator, OFGEM.

“The West Yorkshire area has been particularly badly affected by the recent cold weather and we have mobilised around 70 extra engineering teams to deal with gas escapes.

“This problem is not solely affecting our network it is impacting upon gas companies, and indeed other utilities, across the UK.

“We would like to thank our customers for their patience and remind people to call 0800 111 999 if they need to report a gas leak.”