Sheffield weather: Freezing temperatures set to last for over a week as Stannington homes remain without power

The mercury is set to dip to sub-zero starting from 6am tomorrow (December 8) – but the Met Office warns that even tonight it will ‘feel like’ -4C outside owing to humidity and a slight breeze. It is then predicted to dip below freezing every night until at least Tuesday next week, again with forecasters saying it will feel as low as -5C during afternoons. Some parts of South Yorkshire and England have been told to expect snow, although this hasn’t yet been forecast for Sheffield.

It comes as up to 2,000 homes are currently without heating, hot water, gas or electricity in Stannington in the wake on an ‘unprecedented’ gas flood, where a high pressure water main on Bankfield Lane has burst and tore into gas pipes. Householders described seeing water gush out of hobs and gas meters following the breakdown on December 2, and others were woken up be neighbours in the night warning them there were gas leaks.

One reader told The Star: “There’s no electricity, so the heaters are useless. My daughter and her two young children are at their wit’s end. She can’t leave the house in case the engineers turn up. It’s a disaster.”

Sheffield City Council has declared a ‘major incident’ over the situation, and community centres have opened to provide warm spaces for residents.

Cadent Gas Ltd say they are working to pump out up as much as 400,000 litres of water from gas pipes, which they say cannot be turned back on until they are completely clear. The provider has a rolling list of streets they have so far fixed here, alongside areas at danger of losing further amenities as a result of works.

Residents, who say there have been as many as nine other leaks in the Stannington area this year, are also demanding answers from Yorkshire Water.

Meanwhile, Sheffield City Council is expected to activate their severe weather emergency provisions (SWEP) to house rough sleepers during the cold front.