FREEZING residents in East Barnet have reacted with anger and frustration to news that supplies of heaters and electric cooking rings have run out.

National Grid, the company responsible for the gas supply, has been giving out free heaters and hotplates to people who have had their gas cut off after water got into the gas supply system yesterday.

However, the heaters ran out at lunchtime today and the hotplates yesterday.

Staff are expecting another delivery at 5pm.

Residents complained about a lack of information from the authorities.

Nick Mahony, 36, from Gallants Farm Road said: “They're doing a really poor job. I think it's absolutely appalling.

“I've been told to come back three times for a hob. I haven't got any way of cooking and I've got two babies, one two and a half and one nine months.

“If there's no heaters and no hobs they should give us the money to go and buy them ourselves.

“There's no decent information about what's going on. We need to be putting more resources into it, the call centre couldn't give us any more information.”

Derek Hart, 70, from Church Mead Close, also said he did not think the response had been very good.

Ali Dogan from Best Village Cafe said he had lost a lot of business. He said he could not serve around 60 per cent of the items on his menu, including bacon, eggs, omlettes and burgers.

He said: "I'm fed up saying I can't cook things today. I hope the gas will be back soon."

However, he remains open serving items such as chips, sausage, beans, roast dinners and tea and coffee.

One woman who is due to give birth on Christmas Day said she could not bring a baby home to a cold house.

She said: “It's not their fault, but something's going to happen. If it was just me I wouldn't care about any of this.”

But she was not able to learn any new information by visiting the incident room in St Mary's School in Little Grove.

Company director Ed Berger said: “There's a vacuum of information.

“I've been back and forward since last night. I've bought all this food I can't cook. I don't know what to do with my turkey.”

Rainer Frick said he was concerned about his mother who lives in Jackson Road, East Barnet. He said: “There's a lot of people who have been talking about the electricity being cut off because there's a power surge,” he said.

“My mother's 70 and she's got a heart condition. She's a bit of an ox and she will just get on with things, but I want to make sure she's OK.”

A total of 35 homes did lose electricity yesterday but were reconnected within a few hours.

A spokeswoman from EDF Energy apologised for the loss of service.

Head of operations, Dave Luetchford, apologised for the lack of heaters and hobs, saying another incident in Luton had stretched resources.

He said: "We've run out, but there will be more, we're going to get as many heaters as we can."