Two chaps from Southern Gas Networks were trying to find a branch point on the gas main nearby. Since I was living here when the houses were being built I happen to know that because the developer altered the plans from 4-bed detached to 3-bed semis and terraces that the pre-installed gas main and coiled up house feeds were inadequate in number and in the wrong place, so they just ran them diagonally across the lawns into the garages instead of the expected 90 degree straight line route that you would expect.
Many years later one of these idiot in an SGB overall was using *water* divining rods to convince himself (*) where the tapping should be even though I knew that he was about 6 feet away from the actual location. Talk about a hissy fit !!
(*) Me: (tryijg not to laugh) "Why are you using water divining rods ?" SGN: "They detect changes in the magnetic field" Me: "But the gas main and the branch is plastic and only contains a gas" SGN: (getting irate) "I'm the expert, what would you know" Me: "I have a complete copy of the Gas Safety Regs. What you are doing is bonkers".
The two blokes spent two days munging up the pavement trying to find the tap-off. On Day three there were 4 of them, and now they have fitted a black plastic tapping of some sort, into the ?4 inch gas main that feeds nothing, deep inside the unnecessarily dug hole.
Then they dug a hole where I originally suggested they should dig. 'Apprentice' was literally up to his waist (upside down) in this hole doing what they were meant to do. I knew that the pavement has been built up at least a foot above the original ground level so the house branch and the gas main had to be nearly
3 foot below the new ground level.