THE GMB union is calling for a programme to convert domestic heating systems to the use of green gases such as hydrogen, which it says could support 100,000 jobs.

Plans to ban the installation of new gas boilers will leave millions of homes with huge bills and potentially weeks of disruption, the general union warned.

The problem will be worst in “red wall” areas of England, as the north-east, north-west, the West Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber have the highest proportion of homes connected to the gas grid of all English regions, the union said.