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Smell Gas? For gas emergency call 0800 111 999
For gas emergency call 0800 111 999 Smell Gas?

More than 50 pupils from a Cardiff school are proving you’re never too young to start learning about gas safety after a visit from gas emergency and pipeline service, Wales & West Utilities.

The Year One pupils from Ton Yr Ywen Primary School are the first pupils to receive a Covid-secure visit from Wales & West Utilities as the company encourage pupils to take home important gas safety information following a ‘Safety Seymour’ visit. Safety Seymour is a fun and colourful character who has an important message to share about gas safety in the home, and the dangers of Carbon Monoxide (or CO) poisoning in particular.

Safety Seymour is aimed specifically at young people, it features an interactive event with games, drama and craft to raise awareness of the dangers carbon monoxide can pose in homes. It was delivered by Wales & West Utilities Gas Safety Ambassadors, Julie Spicer and Andy Firth, who spent time in the school delivering sessions to the year one pupils to help drive home the simple steps people can take to stay safe from the dangers of Carbon Monoxide – the Silent Killer.

As part of the day, the ambassadors explained what gas does in the home and how it gets there. They described what Wales & West Utilities do to make sure people continue to receive a safe and reliable gas supply, as well as the steps they should take if they were to smell gas or suspect CO poisoning. Pupils were then encouraged to learn the national gas emergency number – 0800 111 999.

Ton Yr Ywen Primary School teacher Miss Cook said:

We are really grateful to Wales & West Utilities for supporting our curriculum activities. This visit was part of our topic of learning about our local environment and with both Julie and Andy having children in the school, they went much further than talking about the gas network and their jobs.

The children were all engaged in the session, which was delivered in a child-friendly and Covid-secure way.

Julie Spicer, a Performance Manager at Wales & West Utilities and one of the company’s Gas Safety Ambassadors helped deliver the event. She said:

We were delighted to visit the school and give the children information about how to stay safe form the dangers of gas. As a company we work hard to help keep the communities we serve safe and warm as well as raising awareness of the deathly dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning, which is called the Silent Killer because you can’t see it, smell it or taste it.

Carbon monoxide poisoning kills 50 people a year in England and Wales and hospitalises many more. In the UK, there are more than 4,000 visits to Accident and & Emergency for treatment of carbon monoxide poisoning – which can often lead to lasting neurological damage. Even low levels of exposure over an extended period can cause serious health issues, including brain injuries.

Symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning include headaches, tiredness, nausea, dizziness, drowsiness, shortness of breath and, in extreme cases, loss of consciousness.

To stay safe, people are urged to:

  • Know the symptoms.
  • Make sure that gas appliances are serviced annually – that includes gas boilers, gas cookers and gas water heaters.
  • Get an audible carbon monoxide alarm.
  • In a medical emergency, don't delay, call 999 immediately.

Wales & West Utilities, the gas emergency and pipeline service, brings energy to 7.5m people across the south west of England and Wales. If you smell gas, or suspect the presence of carbon monoxide, call us on 0800 111 999 straight away, and our engineers will be there to help any time of day or night. Before visiting, we'll ask you to let us know if you or anyone in your household, is experiencing Coronavirus symptoms or self-isolating. We'll still come and help you: but our teams will take some additional precautions to keep us all safe.

If you’d like a visit from Wales & West Utilities Gas Safety Ambassadors, contact them using: Engagement@wwutilities.co.uk