Burst water main floods homes
HOMES were evacuated and dozens more left without water after a burst main flooded roads in Runcorn.
Residents on Eanleywood Lane, near to Tower Lane and Norton Water Tower, said they woke up on Sunday morning to find ‘a river’ in their street.
Cheshire police confirmed ‘a number of properties’ were evacuated.
Other homes were left without water or with a trickle while problems with water pressure were reported across Runcorn.
Cheshire Fire And Rescue Service said nine properties were evacuated, and residents said they thought ‘half of Runcorn’ had experienced problems with their water.
United Utilities told the Weekly News the incident involved a ‘large’ 24-inch water main, which had burst in a field behind Norton Water Tower.
It said water supplies for ‘several thousand’ properties were affected but were all reconnected by 4pm, with 20 tankers brought in to pump in water and redirect water from other parts of the network.
The firm has apologised to residents and thanked them for their patience.
Householders have spoken about the incident.
Tony Higham, who lives on the corner of Eanleywood Lane where the worst of the flooding occurred, said at the time: “I’ve got no water for a start.
“I think it’s been happening since 6am this morning.
“The water’s been off for two hours now.
“I woke up at 7am in the morning and thought it was teeming it down then saw it – it was like a river. ●
“They’ve just said it’s a burst pipe, there are four pipes and one’s gone. “They were going to evacuate us earlier but that seems to have passed.”
John McKinlay, of Eanleywood Lane, suffered flooding in the ground floor of his house – including the kitchen, garage, utility room and lounge.
He said: “I got up at 7.30am, my house was flooded. People are in wellies. “Three inches of water has gone, where’s it gone? It’s gone through the floorboards. It’s like a river.
“It’s gone through the garage into the back room – three to four inches, two-and-a-half to three inches in the living room.”
Laurence Baron, whose partner’s father lives in the area, said: “A relative has been affected.
“They were offered evacuation but they stayed in the house. He’s got mild dementia so he’s not very mobile.
“We managed to get through to him this morning and give him some tablets. He’s just trapped and got a bit worried.
“It’s up to his front door but hasn’t gone in – but I’ve heard other people haven’t been so lucky.”
One man, who asked not to be named, said: “It’s like someone turned a tap on and couldn’t get it off.
“United Utilities were called at about 6.30am this morning.
“There was a huge flood in the road, like a river, and you could see it running down the hill.
“They were bringing diggers in by the water tower so it must be something in the ground up there.
“It must have affected half of Runcorn.”
United Utilities’ website said on the day that 18 mobile tankers were coming to the area to restore supply as quickly as possible.
Police closed Eanleywood Lane at the junction with Fox Covert and the Holbeck junction with Tower Lane during the worst of the flooding.