Couple left without water after leak repairs

8 hours ago

Joe Campbell & Stuart RustSouth of England

News image — Nan Evans and partner Dave Moon have been relying on bottled water at their home since the beginning of January

BBC An elderly lady, wearing a scarf around her neck, stands in her kitchen pouring water from a large bottle into a kettle. — Nan Evans and partner Dave Moon have been relying on bottled water at their home since the beginning of January

An elderly couple said they have been left without running water for more than a week after contractors carried out repairs to fix a leak at their council-owned bungalow.

Nan Evans, 72, and her partner Dave Moon, 83, said they contacted Wokingham Borough Council about a suspected leak at their home in Riseley, Berkshire, on 2 January.

The authority's maintenance contractor Cardo Group said it carried out repairs that day before reporting the matter to Thames Water when the couple's water supply failed to return.

The water company told the BBC it had investigated and established the problem was not within its network of pipes but with those running across council land.

An elderly man in a grey jumper, wearing glasses and hearing aids, sits on the sofa in the lounge of his bungalow. — Dave Moon described the ongoing lack of water as "absolutely disgusting"

In a statement, Cardo Group said: "Following further investigations, we worked with Wokingham Borough Council to report an issue with the supply of water to the home to Thames Water."

The water company said it received reports of an issue with an outside stop valve following the leak repairs.

A stop valve marks the point between pipework that is the responsibility of the water company and that which is the responsibility of the property owner.

Cardo said it would not be able to explore the issue further until Monday when its specialists were available.

The council has provided the couple with hotel accommodation while the issue continues but the pair said they have been returning home daily to feed their cat and check to see if their water supply has been restored.

Moon said: "I have problems like COPD (Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). I can't walk very far and I have arthritis, which sometimes is quite crippling.

"When you consider our age, having to go from home to hotels and back again to feed the cat... I think it's absolutely disgusting."