Penryn-based Blue Flame recorded its busiest week ever when the 'Beast from East' hit the region.

The company, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, took over 2,000 telephone calls in just three days as snow hit Cornwall.

The Penryn-based company also booked 185 emergency jobs on Thursday, March 1, when the conditions were at their worst. This compares to a daily average of 30 emergency calls the company receives in usual winter conditions.

Paul Smith, Blue Flame co-founder and director, said: “It was all hands to the pump here in the office and out in the field. I have a great sense of achievement for the first class support that we gave our customers, and how we helped in the community. The feedback we’ve received is incredible.

“I’d like to thank the team for their hard work and dedication to battle the elements to make sure we could keep our customers with heat, water and electric.”

In the three days when the snow hit the Blue Flame office received over 2,000 calls from people with heating, plumbing and electrical issues. An increase of 350 per cent on average winter calls.

The company also booked in 500 emergency jobs over a six-day period before and during the snow - an increase of 120 per cent on average.

Paul added: “We had engineers out on foot and in four wheel drive vehicles, trying to get to our customers. We also had a team of engineers in the office providing support over the phone.

“A lot of the emergencies related to frozen condensate pipes, and we were able to triage over 150 of those emergencies over the phone to fix the fault. It was the biggest test of our systems and processes we’ve ever had, and it’s great to say that our staff excelled during this time.”