Plumbers flooded as thaw hits pipes

Burst pipes brought on by the big thaw are causing a major headache for plumbers across the West Midlands, it was revealed today.

Severn Trent Water was already battling a 50 per cent surge in calls from customers complaining of frozen pipes before being hit by soaring demand for help after bursts. And Walsall-based emergency repair group HomeServe today told it has been swamped with 3,000 calls in the first week of January – double that of the same period last year.

The firm sells repair insurance and warranties and say the number of claims has increased by a third.

Spokeswoman Emma Harvey said today: “In the first seven days of 2009, we have already managed nearly 10,000 insurance claims relating to plumbing and drainage issues and nearly 3,000 relating to burst and frozen pipes. This is twice as many as the same period last year.

“In the Midlands alone, we have seen a 34 per cent increase in claims relating to pipes.”

Fraser Pithie, Severn Trent’s senior operations manager, said the company was also dealing with a higher than usual number of bursts on its own network due to the change in the weather.

“In some cases, water supplies may be interrupted for short periods while we make vital repairs in response to emergencies,” he warned.

“Ice needs more space so when water freezes it expands, putting extra pressure on the pipes. But it’s only when the thaw sets in that many customers first realise they have a burst pipe on their hands.”

Mr Pithie said the firm took 50 per cent more calls than normal over the weekend caused by customers whose private, internal water pipes had frozen.

Express & Star weatherman John Warner said temperatures would drop below zero tonight. The thermometer was expected to hit 3C (37F) today but plunge to -3C (27F) overnight.