Residents in Ely could be forgiven for reaching for the central heating controls this month as figures reveal it is among England’s chilliest cities.

With an average minimum temperature of 5.7°C, ice-cold Ely ranked seventh in a line-up of more than 50 English cities, put together by gas network Cadent.

The figures used Met Office data spanning nearly 30 years, from 1981 to 2010.

Although not quite snagging the top spot – held by Leeds and Bradford with an average minimum temperature of 5.1°C – Ely weather can have a chilly sting in its tail.

Chris Rison, Cadent’s head of emergency, response and repair for the East of England, said: “Winter can be very unpredictable. When the ‘Beast from the East’ hit at the very end of winter this year, gas escape calls in the Ely, Cambridge and Huntingdon area quadrupled on March 1 compared to the same day last year.

“During the first four days in March we dealt with nearly three times as many emergency calls, compared with the same period in 2017.”

For Cadent’s top ten tips for a warm and safe winter visit: https://cadentgas.com/emergencies-safety/safeguarding/be-winter-ready