A VISUALLY impaired man has been nominated for a customer service award for helping a stricken pensioner who was left in the cold by vandals.

Switchboard operator Jeff Rooney, of Gateshead, decided to look after the Middlesbrough woman's case personally after discovering she had been without gas since June after home was vandalised.

The woman who is in her 80s, and has asked not to be named, said she could have died if it wasn't for his help.

Mr Rooney, who works for United Utilities, took the initial call from the engineer who went out to assess the damage.

In addition to the metre being damaged, the protective box and an external pipe had also been smashed up.

Although gas was not leaking, new pipe work and a meter box was needed - a job that normally takes weeks to plan.

Mr Rooney spoke to United Utilities managers and got a site inspection, installation and safety checks carried out in just a few days.

He said: "I couldn't believe how many things were going against getting the lady's gas supply back on.

"Thankfully, I am a very positive person and we have a lot of good people here so a few more phone calls and things were sorted."

He also managed to obtain her a reduction in her bill due to the vandalised pipe.

Due to his hard work he has been nominated for a company customer service award.

Customer support manager Brian Dobsonsaid: "This is typical of Jeff putting a vulnerable customer at the heart of our operations."

The woman said: "I am very grateful for all the help I was given, I could easily have died with the cold if Jeff hadn't helped me."