Residents in a Newcastle care home were treated to a fish and chip supper after an accident left them without gas supply.
A gas main on Killingworth Road was accidentally damaged by a contractor on Monday and emergency repairs had to take place.
Around 30 properties, including a pub and a care home, were left without supplies until repairs could be completed.
Northern Gas Networks apologised to anyone caught in the disruption and said that they supplied the vulnerable residents of the care home with a hot meal.
A spokeswoman for Northern Gas Networks said: "Supplies were lost to around 30 properties in Killingworth Road, including a pub and a care home, this morning after a contractor working for a third party organisation accidentally damaged a gas main.
“Our emergency team was on site quickly to make the area safe and since then we have been working hard to repair the main and get everyone’s gas supply back to normal.
“For important safety reasons, this has taken some time today, but the repair is now complete and we have visiting every property to carry out a final safety check and switch people’s gas supplies back on. Everything should be back to normal now.
“Although the problem was not of our making, we are really sorry for the disruption to people’s daily lives especially during the busy teatime period. For the vulnerable customers in the care home, our engineers bought them all fish and chips so they didn’t miss their tea.”
A Newcastle City Council spokeswoman added: “A gas pipe was damaged during the roadworks to the A189 which cut off the gas supply to properties including a care home, The Victory pub and 26 homes today.
"Working with Northern Gas Networks, we were able to quickly repair the damaged pipes but supplies to the properties affected could not be reinstated safely until each property was isolated.
"Our teams were on site throughout the day liaising with residents and businesses. We ensured the residents of the Care Home were supplied with an evening meal. The gas supply was restored to the affected properties from 4.45pm, with all properties expected to be reconnected no later than 7.30pm.
"We apologise for any inconvenience caused and thank everyone affected for their patience.”
