Burst water mains cause 'nightmare' disruption

Residents of a village in Warwickshire say a series of burst water pipes has turned daily life into a "nightmare", cutting off routes in and out of the area, and leaving some homes without water for days.

Several pipes have been affected over the past three weeks, with the latest incident reported on 6 February.

Severn Trent Water said on Friday that works in the area had been completed and supplies restored, but residents say problems have been "having a huge impact".

Sue Pattison said drivers had been carefully planning journeys because several routes had been blocked while work took place. She added some vehicles had become stranded after ignoring road closure signs.

"On Wednesday night a 44-tonne lorry got stuck on the grass verge. Another lorry had to come and get it out," she said.

"Others who are ignoring the road closed signs are driving on pavements to get past. It's a nightmare."

Pattison said her father-in-law, who was almost 90, had been cut off by road closures and the family had had to walk to check in on him.

It is understood that Rugby Road has now reopened.

Residents said bursts and work to fix them meant some people had been without water for four days over a 16-day period.

An update issued by Severn Trent on Friday informed residents that works had been completed and the water supply was "back to normal" and thanked them for their patience.

Earlier, the company had warned repairs were more complex than expected and could take up to another week, with engineers needing to renew sections of pipe.

Pattison, who has lived in her home for almost 18 years, said the frequency of bursts seemed to have increased since the neighbouring Earle Gardens housing development was built, and said she was fearful of plans to build more homes in the area.

A Severn Trent spokesperson apologised for the disruption and said there was "no indication" the problems were "linked to any developments in the area".

"Bursts on water pipes can happen for a number of reasons and when the work is complete we will look into why it happened," they said.

"We know this work has caused an impact locally and we're thankful for everyone's patience and understanding while we get everything fixed and back to normal."

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