• Register with your supplier if you consider yourself to be vulnerable.

• Have a non-mains powered telephone available for use in the event of a power failure and keep a mobile phone charged and ready for use.

• Check if your neighbours have lost services, this will make a difference to what you should do next.

• Contact your supplier to report the fault and ask for any further information.

• If it is a local issue, watch the local news and tune into BBC Radio Merseyside online for advice.

• Listen on battery powered or wind-up radio for announcements in your area.

• Be on alert for bogus callers posing as utility company workers. Always ask to see a Company Identification Card.

If you are still having problems or are in doubt, contact your supplier for advice.