Residents in ice battle after water mains bursts in Langholme Drive

Yorkshire Water said about 300 staff were deployed yesterday to deal with about 270 bursts which had been reported across the region by lunchtime, with more bursts expected as the day went on and in coming days.

A spokesman said that unlike pipes in homes, mains did not themselves freeze up, but they were instead affected by the ground contracting during freezing weather and then expanding when the thaw set in.

He said the old metal mains were vulnerable, rather than the more flexible plastic pipes installed nowadays. He urged householders with normal supplies to use their water sparingly, as this would assist Yorkshire Water in restoring water pressure to people affected by bursts.

About a dozen residents of Langholme Drive, off Boroughbridge Road, spent a day clearing the road of a sheet of ice up to six inches thick after a mains burst on December 22, leaving water running down the street.

Resident Denise Simkins said: “It’s not often you see such community support in a street as long as this.” She said the street had been impassable since Christmas Eve, but the leak had not been classed as a priority.

Simon Boden, one of the residents who breaking the ice with a shovel and clearing it off the road, said he had damaged his car by grounding it on a high ridge of ice.

Pauline Smurthwaite said she had been borrowing water from her neighbours and having showers at other people’s houses because she had no water.

“You don’t realise how much you depend on water until you can’t use it,” she said. “It is an inconvenience. If I didn’t have good neighbours, I don’t know what I would do.”

A spokesman for Yorkshire Water said the leaks were the result of a burst on a small two-inch water pipe and a private supply pipe, and it would work to repair it as soon as possible.

“We would like to apologise to residents of Langholme Drive for any inconvenience they are currently experiencing.”