Prepare now for winter, warns energy firm

BRITISH Gas has urged households to “prepare now” for the winter ahead of most people turning on their heating by the end of this month.

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The energy firm said more than 1.2 million customers called on its engineers to fix broken boilers last winter to get their heating and hot water system back up and running.

The firm's customer data shows there is a boiler switch-on each year during the first September cold snap, but the majority turn their heating on, pictured, in late October or when there are four consecutive days of minimum temperatures below 9C.