A PUB and nearby houses faced 'massive disruption' after a gas outage hit the area.

Staff at the Spread Eagle in Mellor said problems were first reported on Tuesday night of a lack of gas in the area and persisted all through Wednesday.

A total of 125 properties around the Barker Lane area were affected and local gas network Cadent were informed of the issue on Wednesday morning.

Engineers identified water had found its way into the pipe which needed to be removed to restore a safe and reliable supply of gas.

They then removed around 1,000 litres of water with their operation based at the Spread Eagle pub, before going door-to-door on Thursday to switch gas back on.

Lesley Clark, owner of the pub in Mellor Lane, said: "It was a massive disruption.

"The problems first came up on Tuesday night.

"We had to send staff home.

"Then we had to bring all the staff in the following morning, we didn't know when it was going to be back on.

"It was big disruption, for us and for the local residents, there was a lot of them.

"Obviously as a business owner we wanted it sorted as soon as possible, and Cadent did work quick and as well as they could."

Fan heaters and electric cooking equipment were supplied by Cadent to ensure people could keep warm and cook meals while the extensive work was carried out.

After the water was removed Cadent carried out checks on boilers and appliances to make sure they were working safely.

A spokesman for Cadent said: “We identified early that the loss of supply was caused by water in the pipe.

"We needed to make sure gas supplies and appliances were turned off in each of the 125 properties first, and ensure everyone had alternative heating and cooking facilities.

“Our engineers then dug into the road and connected a pump to our pipe, which removed around 1,000 litres of water that had got in there. Once the water was out, we went door-to-door again to restore supplies to properties, which included a pub and a nursing home.

“These sorts of jobs always throw up challenges and we are delighted to have restored supplies in quick order, considering.

"Our thanks to everyone locally for bearing with us, and in particular to the team at the Spread Eagle pub, for allowing us to base ourselves from the car park.”

Cadent is the UK’s biggest gas network, ensuring gas arrives safely to 11 million homes via a network of 131,000km of pipes.