A soggy New Year for small businesses

It's been a soggy New Year for many small business owners who are returning to work after the festive season.

Shops and other properties left empty over the holidays have been hit by a deluge of burst pipes after the cold weather.

Today, (Tuesday 4 January 2011) United Utilities said it had received hundreds of phone calls from business owners and school caretakers who had made the disastrous discovery of burst internal pipe work and flooding.

The water company advises to turn off internal stop taps and call a plumber. And the firm is appealing to anyone with the keys to an empty building to check on it so that any flood damage can be minimised or avoided.

Scott Beard, regional water network manager at United Utilities, said: "We are working round the clock, putting enough water into the pipe network to keep supplies on tap for all our customers.

"But we know that a lot of this water is unaccounted for - there are a lot of leaks yet to be discovered, both on internal pipe work and on our own water mains network.

"Our leak detection teams and repair crews are working flat out to locate and fix any underground leaks that are not showing up on the surface.

"We are really grateful to the public for their help in telling us about any leaks they spot on roads and pavements. We also need people to check that any empty buildings are not being flooded by internal leaks."

The water company has repaired hundreds of leaks on water mains since Boxing Day, and is prioritising further repairs according to the size of the leak and its potential to affect local water supplies.

The company has no responsibility for pipe work on private property, either internal or underground. However, it is urging people to report any leaks on roads or footpaths by calling freephone number 0800 33 0033.

Have you been effected by bust pipes? Tell us your story by emailing the news team on news@rochdaleonline.co.uk