British Gas urges households to buy sleeping bags and ‘3 days of food’ | Weather | News

Heavy snow has already arrived in parts of the UK this weekend, including parts of northern England and Scotland seeing several centimetres of settled snow. Blizzard conditions set in across East Yorkshire, including Hull, on Saturday morning, with households across the north of England waking up to heavy snow.

A yellow Met Office warning for heavy snow remains in place, with more yellow weather warnings for snow and ice across various parts of the UK in the days to come. It said: “Showers of sleet and snow (snow mainly over higher ground), will affect parts of Wales and southwest England during Saturday evening and overnight into Sunday morning. Where showers occur, icy stretches will develop on untreated surfaces.

“Whilst many areas will see little accumulating snow, there is potential for several cm over Eryri, higher ground of Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire, and perhaps parts of Bodmin Moor and Dartmoor.”

Snow has already arrived in several parts of the UK and more could be on the way today and on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. On Monday, a new yellow weather warning has been issued for the entire east coast of England all the way from the Scottish border down to Norwich, while on the opposite coast, all of the north West of England, Wales and the South West of England is also covered by a snow warning.

Energy supplier British Gas has a list of advice for homes, urging people to do 10 things to prepare.

The list includes: Improve insulation, including weatherproofing gaps around windows and doors.

Protect pipes, and put insulating tubing on any exposed pipes for your boiler or heating or water supply.

Store extra wood for a log burner indoors, in case you can’t get to it, and don’t put electric heaters near furniture.

The firm also urged people to check smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors, especially if using indoor heating like a log burner.

Households were also urged to check where their stopcock is, in case they need to turn off the water supply due to a burst pipe.

British Gas then told households to prepare for not having heating. It said; “While it’s unlikely that a heavy snowfall will leave you without any heating, it’s always worth keeping sleeping bags, blankets and warm coats handy.”

Its seventh tip relates to gardens, adding: “While it’s unlikely that a heavy snowfall will leave you without any heating, it’s always worth keeping sleeping bags, blankets and warm coats handy.”

The supplier also urged people to make an emergency kit, adding: “It’s a good habit to have at least three days’ worth of food and essentials stored in an easy-to-reach part of your home.

That’s things like medicines, drinking water, non-perishable food and snacks, and extra blankets. You should also keep a torch, batteries and a phone charger close by too.”

For those with a car, the firm said to check several key things, It said: “Have your brakes, heater, tyres and windscreen wipers checked to make sure they’re in good working order before winter.”

And finally, British Gas urged people to check on neighbours as it added: “When severe weather hits, you might find yourself stranded away from home. So plan how you’ll stay in contact with the rest of your household and where you’ll meet if you can’t get home due to heavy snow.

“Check in on elderly or vulnerable relatives and neighbours to make sure they’ve got everything they need to get through a cold snap”