Burst pipe puts street 10ft under
A BURST water main turned this street into a raging 10ftdeep river yesterday – partially submerging cars and trapping residents indoors. The murky floodwater swamped an area equivalent to three football pitches as it gushed from the pipe, believed to have been damaged by workmen using a digger.
Around 30 firemen as well as flood rescue teams, police and paramedics helped evacuate homes and battled to stop the water spreading to a nearby electricity sub-station. One woman had to be rescued and 17 cars were damaged on the street in Wednesbury, West Midlands, near a tram stop popular with commuters to Birmingham.
Resident Dave Baldwin, 44, said: ‘I wouldn’t be surprised if the damage ended up being over a million pounds.’ South Staffs Water said it aimed to fix the leak as soon as possible, while the local council said it had set up a support centre for residents.