Water firm criticised over leak during dry weather

David Pattenden says the leak is the equivalent of "a lot of dripping taps"

Frustrated villagers have accused Yorkshire Water of failing to tackle leaks ahead of potential water shortages forecast for later this year.

Residents in Cherry Burton, East Yorkshire, said they had alerted the company to a leaking pipe near crossroads outside the village.

They claimed it had been leaking for months, despite an attempt by the utility firm to fix it earlier this year.

After being contacted by the BBC, Yorkshire Water apologised for the delay and said a team had been tasked with repairing the leak on Tuesday evening.

Water streaming from a burst pipe to a drain outside Cherry Burton

Villager David Pattenden said he believed the leak had been a problem for more than four months.

A steady flow of water had been bubbling up to form a small stream before running into a drain further down the road.

He said he was surprised that Yorkshire Water had not done more to fix it, given warnings from the industry about water conservation and potential shortages in the event of a drought.

"It's about time Yorkshire Water took some notice of their own advice," Mr Pattenden said. "There's a lot of dripping taps here."

Judith Steel says water companies should be doing more to repair leaks

Judith Steel, a 77-year-old resident, added: "Everybody thinks that the water charges are extortionate and they ought to do something about repairs, maintenance and clean water.

"It really is actually shocking."

Last month, the Environment Agency warned water companies that more must be done to safeguard water supplies following the driest start to spring since 1956.

Meanwhile, Yorkshire Water raised the prospect of a hosepipe ban if the sustained dry weather continued, but said it had reduced leakage in the region by 15%.

On Tuesday, a spokesperson for Yorkshire Water told the BBC that an "initial inspection" of the leak in Cherry Burton had shown it to be "more complex than anticipated".

This meant it required "an overnight fix, so that pressure and supply issues are kept to a minimum".

The spokesperson said a team was due to be on site on Tuesday evening.

"We would like to thank the residents of Cherry Burton for their diligence in reporting leakages as this really helps us to identify issues and protect the network," they added.

"We appreciate that this has taken us longer to rectify and is not indicative of our usual standards and as such, we would like to apologise to customers in the village for the delay."

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