WATER supplies to parts of Wirral were turned off on Tuesday night to repair a leaky pipe.

Supplies to around 9,000 properties across Rock Ferry, New Ferry and Higher Tranmere areas of Wirral were turned off between 8pm last night and 2am yesterday.

United Utilities needed to carry out emergency work to repair a leak on a 12” main in Well Lane.

United Utilities’ network customer manager Paul Harrison, said: “Previous attempts to repair the leak without interrupting water supplies have been unsuccessful.

“We had considered re-routing supplies to customers from a different part of the network so there would be no disruption whilst repairs were ongoing, but the risk of them experiencing discoloured water was too high.

“This has left us with no choice but to shut off the main and complete the repair.

“We would also usually carry out a shut-off after midnight but given the current inclement weather and the resulting rise in reported leaks, we needed to do it earlier. We did leave it until as late as we possibly could to carry out this essential work so customers’ supplies won’t be affected at teatime. We also ensured vulnerable customers in the area were looked after.”

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