Derbyshire emergency gas engineer puts off his retirement to ensure residents can stay safe and warm

Mike Aldridge, who covers the High Peak area for energy company Cadent, voluntarily put his planned retirement on hold to ensure that essential repairs could still be made.

“We don’t know how many of our engineers this will impact, so it just didn’t seem right me going ahead with retirement,” said Mike, 58. “Also, if I did retire, I’d probably just be at home, self-isolating, so I’d much rather be out there – as long as I am fit and healthy – keeping myself busy and helping customers keep safe.”

Cadent looks after over 21,000 miles of gas mains in the North West region, which deliver gas to more than 2.7 million properties, for central heating, hot water and cooking. Placed end to end, that amount of pipes would run from Manchester to Sydney, Australia, and back again.

The company also provides the gas emergency service for the same area, with hundreds of engineers in the region ready to respond to smells of gas and suspected carbon monoxide incidents. They are strategically placed to reach an incident within an hour if the situation requires it.

Jenny Moten, director of Cadent’s North West network, said: “I’m immensely proud of Mike – what an amazing decision to volunteer to defer retirement as we all rise to the challenge of dealing with an unprecedented situation. It’s indicative of the spirit shown by everyone at Cadent.

“We continue to maintain an essential service, keeping gas flowing to keep people warm in their homes, hospitals and other buildings. We also continue to provide that ‘peace of mind’ service, with engineers here, ready to respond straight away, if there’s a gas emergency to respond to. The team is working around the clock to do just that and I am proud of every one of them.”

Another company engineer – Alan Brown, who covers the Lake District has also put off his retirement.

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