Firm behind water pipe damage calls in liquidators with £1.5m owed

Spray from the ruptured pipe covered several homes and part of Nottingham's tram network

The firm which caused a plume of water to flood a neighbourhood has called in liquidators.

Workers creating new student accommodation at the Chilwell Nottingham College site damaged a pipe, sending a huge jet of water skywards in the direction of Gwenbrook Avenue at about 13:30 GMT on 7 March last year.

Nearby homes and streets were swamped, with residents evacuated.

Trams were unable to run between University Boulevard and Toton Lane.

Developers ALB Properties later apologised in a statement to Nottinghamshire Live "for the inconvenience and distress caused", adding only contractors HBW Construction were on site at the time.

HBW has now appointed liquidators CMB Partners, with about £1.5m owed to creditors.

The damaged pipe caused major flooding

Documents filed with Companies House show these include HMRC, which is owed more than £177,000, as well as sums to Severn Trent and the National Grid - although it is not known if these debts relate to the damaged pipe incident.

The firm, which was based in Ilkeston, Derbyshire, had some 29 staff, according to the most recent Companies House filings submitted last year, but joint liquidator Adam Price told the BBC that all employees had been let go prior to their appointment.

Mr Price said the Chilwell pipe damage was "significantly linked" to the company's failure, although in general the construction sector had proved challenging for many firms since the Covid pandemic.

Following the incident, the Health and Safety Executive launched an investigation to see if regulations had been broken on the site of the 162-bed Graduation House building.

Its investigation ended in January this year, with no further action being taken, HSE has confirmed.

Following the flooding, the building was completed and the first students were welcomed in autumn 2023.