Homes wrecked as water main bursts
‘TENS OF THOUSANDS OF POUNDS’ OF DAMAGE CAUSED TO PROPERTIES
PEOPLE living in a Manchester street have described how a 5am flash flood devastated their homes after a water main suddenly burst.
Hyde Road in Gorton became a raging torrent of water after the main, which was being worked on by United Utilities at the time, suddenly burst during the early hours of yesterday.
Water, carrying large lumps of clay ripped from earth around the main, gushed along Hyde Road and down Far Lane where five homes were deluged.
The flood caused tens of thousands of pounds of damage to the 300-yearold home of Julie Boardman, 52 and her husband Mike, 67.
They have lived in their beloved 1700s three-bed cottage for 20 years.
The kitchen, lounge, dining room and conservatory ended up under water.
Julie, speaking from her upstairs window, said: “I was still in bed. My neighbour rang me to say ‘have you looked out of your window?’ I looked out and it was a flood.
“The next thing my cat came up the stairs. She had been in the kitchen, paddling!
“I phoned my husband and said ‘you might have to come home.’”
Mike had left the house at 4.50am to start work as a courier driver and returned to see Far Lane was under water and his car was floating away. “It was a raging torrent,” said Mike. Another neighbour, Roger Dearman, 44, said: “I got up about 6am. I could hear a water noise, like somebody having a shower.
“I looked out of the front door and at that point (the water) was up to the step.”
He said at the height of the flood he and his wife, who have a disabled daughter, were wading through three inches of water which had deluged their home.
Roger estimated the damage to his property to be between £50,000 and £100,000.
He said: “All the joists are going to have to come out and all the flooring. Computers have been damaged.”
A spokesperson for United Utilities said: “We are very sorry to say that a large water main burst in Hyde Road earlier today causing flooding and leaving some customers temporarily without water.
“Our engineers have been on site since the burst happened and have now successfully isolated the main. The water has mostly subsided and we will soon be able to commence repair work.
“Our insurance team is also on site. They will liaise direct with anyone who has been affected to make sure they get the help and support they need.”
The spokesperson said that speculation amongst some residents that UU engineers had caused the burst main was incorrect.