Woman questions hosepipe ban while leak not fixed

Linda has shoulder length blonde hair and is waring glasses. She is standing by a white wall which is behind her and is wearing a lanyard around her neck.

Image source, ALEXANDER STEVANOVIC/BBCImage caption,

Linda Kirby has complained about a hosepipe ban, while a water leak remains unfixed in Braintree

ByAlexander StevanovicEssex

Published28 minutes ago

A woman has criticised Anglian Water for imposing a hosepipe ban while not fixing a water leak that she had reported "weeks ago".

Linda Kirby, a receptionist at Polly's Field Village in Deanery Hill in Braintree, Essex, said in June she reported a leak that tickles down Church Lane and forms a puddle next to Chantry Close.

She added a hosepipe ban amid a drought while the leak remained made her "very annoyed".

Anglian Water said its teams were "working hard" through the hot weather to "prioritise repairs that are having the greatest impact on customers' water supplies".

Kirby, who lives in Halstead, Essex, said she goes past the leak every time she drives to work.

She said: "Why are we paying all of this money when there is water being wasted down a drain?"

"It started as a small trickle and over the weeks it has got bigger - they need to get their act together."

Residents who live next to the leak have also expressed their disappointment with the company.

A road with houses on either side and cars are parked to the left. Water can be seen trickling from the top of the road, forming a puddle.

Image source, ALEXANDER STEVANOVIC/BBCImage caption,

The leak starts in Deanery Hill and continues down into Church Lane

One woman, who the BBC has agreed not to name, said she had reported the leak to Anglian Water.

"The leak has been there for two to three months and no-one seems to be doing anything about it," she said.

"There's a hosepipe ban and we are wasting water and it's causing a huge puddle in the street that cars splash through," she added.

In a statement, Anglian Water said the current weather "can cause ground movement that results in an increase of burst water mains or leaks".

"We'd like to thank our customers for their patience while we respond to the challenges created by this period of exceptionally dry weather," it added.

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