Thaw leads to burst water mains in East Midlands

The small rise in temperatures has seen a large rise in the number of burst water mains in the East Midlands region.

Severn Trent Water said it had 160 burst mains which were waiting to be repaired on Sunday and that the situation could worsen overnight.

The worst affected areas have been in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire.

The water company said it was not yet able to confirm how many customers had been affected.

'Unprotected pipes'

Severn Trent Water said over the past week it had received 25,000 calls to its operations centre, well over three times the seasonal average.

A spokesman for the company said: "The thaw this weekend has also seen bursts at customers' homes requiring plumber call-outs, at commercial premises and properties managed by estate or letting agents.

"The latter, in particular, are vulnerable as unprotected pipes under floorboards, in unoccupied premises and in outbuildings are most likely to see bursts.

"The thaw will mean pipes that have frozen, expanded and the split will contract and start leaking."