WE all sympathise with the Leeman Road families, left shivering in their homes during the coldest spell of the year by a gas fault.

Now it appears their hardship could have been reduced by earlier action.

It may be scant comfort for those families still left freezing, but the best Christmas present gas company Transco could offer would be to conduct a proper investigation into what went wrong.

Updated: 10:49 Friday, December 03, 2004