On Monday 27 ^th February Paul Callaway, Plant Manager, and Allan Pye IHC driver, arrived at North Walsham Plant, cluster 14, ready for the day ahead.   Matthew Yaxley, cluster manager, takes up the story. “Around 7:15 they both noticed what seemed like a bad air leak coming from outside the plant boundary. Allan walked outside the plant and noticed that a metal gate post at our neighbour’s entrance had been struck and seriously damaged along with a lighting tower in the entrance and this seemed to be where the noise was coming from.

As Allan approached the area it became clear that what was originally thought to be an air leak was in fact a fractured gas main at the neighbour’s property caused by the damage. Both Paul and Allan sprung into action, contacted the owner of the Transport Company whose gate had been hit and informed others on the estate of the issue whilst contacting the Gas Board and Emergency Services.

Whilst keeping at a safe distance Paul and Allan restricted entry onto the estate and continued to warn people of the gas leak and kept people safe and away from the area.

Once the Gas Board and Emergency Services arrived, which included 2 fire engines and over 6 Police Cars, they took control of the situation and set up a 300m exclusion zone whilst the leak was repaired.

What a great example of Stepping In and Looking After Themselves and Each Other which ensuring everybody maintained a safe distance and were aware of the situation.

The safety cordon was eventually lifted and the all clear given by the Emergency Services to return back to the plant was given around 11:30am.

All the years of Emergency Drills paid off and I thank both Paul and Allan for Stepping In and ensuring the safety of themselves, each other and that of the general public.

Well Done.”