RESIDENTS are furious that water has been left to leak on a Basingstoke road for five days – in a year that saw record-hot summer and a period of drought.

The water has been running down on Reading Road near Chineham since Friday, October 21.

A furious resident, who did not want to be named, said South East Water has not fixed the leak despite residents alerting them on the day it started.

READ MORE: Hot weather causing increase in water leaks in Basingstoke

“It's such a waste of water because it's been going on since Friday,” the resident said.

“We've got a drought in this country. The leak is not ruining the drive, we can drive through it. But it's the waste of water that is really bothering me.

“It's a complete mess. Part of the drains is overflowing because they're full of leaves.”

The resident said the water company has been informed about the incident, and a person came to look at it on Monday, October 24, but the leak has not been stopped yet.

“We've been up and down the road and there's hardly any contractors there when we go past. It's just completely gushing with water,” the resident added.

“It’s a terrible waste of water. We're all paying money for water. But it's just going down the drain.

“And at the moment, we've got a crisis on these reservoirs. We are told it is only about a third full. Wow! That's why it's been running down the road for four days.”

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South East Water's regional network manager, Robert Anthony-Scorse said: “We are very sorry to local residents and road users affected by two leaking water mains in Reading Road, Basingstoke.

“We have installed a temporary fix to one of the broken mains, but both pipes require bespoke fittings to complete the repair, which take a few days to manufacture.

“Temporary traffic lights are in place for safety reasons while we make these repairs.

“It is too soon to say precisely when the pipes will be fixed but customers can register for updates on our interactive map: inyourarea.digdat.co.uk/southeastwater

“We appreciate that seeing leaks when we are asking customers to be mindful of their water use is frustrating.

“Since the summer, we’ve seen a dramatic 50 per cent rise in the number of leaks along our 9,000 mile long network of underground pipes. This is due to a number of factors, including a lack of rainfall and drying of the soil during the summer.

“Fixing these pipes as quickly as possible is a key priority and we are working hard to recruit additional teams to increase the number of repair crews available.

“However, with many other water companies facing similar issues and also working hard to recruit additional teams, we have been unable to expand the team as much as we hoped.

“While we continue to recruit through our contractors, we are prioritising fixing leaks and bursts accordingly and undertaking repairs as quickly as we can.

“We continue to invest in upgrading our infrastructure and are mid-way through our £433m five-year investment programme which includes the replacement of water mains of old, unreliable water mains.”  

“Customers can visit southeastwater.co.uk/leaks to read more about how we find and fix leaks.”