Perthshire North MSP, John Swinney, today visited the site of the loss of gas supply in Scone. He met with Scottish Gas Networks (SGN), Scottish Water, Perth and Kinross Council and local residents as work goes on to resolve the problem.

Commenting, Mr Swinney said:

"This has been a major incident over the last few days in Scone where a leak in the water supply has fed into the gas network. It has caused a great deal of inconvenience to members of the public who have been without gas since Tuesday.

"The response of SGNgas has been outstanding with an army of engineers and staff deployed to distribute cooking and heating equipment, provide welfare support to vulnerable customers and to resolve the original problem. The team have been working night and day to support local residents.

"After supplies were re-connected last night, nearly 800 households were visited to turn on gas supply. More activity is underway today to complete the task.

"I am very grateful to SGNgas, Scottish Water and Perth and Kinross Council for working together to resolve this problem as quickly as possible. I would also like to thank local residents in Scone for their patience through these difficult few days. In their conversations with me, a number of local residents have praised SGNgas staff for their exemplary handling of this incident and I echo that praise today."