Pubs and shops forced to close as Yorkshire Water outages hit in fourth heatwave of summer

In Marton-cum-Grafton, a small North Yorkshire village near Boroughbridge, this was the fourth time in two months the water has been shut off.

A number of areas in Yorkshire have been left with no water, as the UK enters its fourth heatwave of the summer.

Yorkshire and the North East were the only two areas in England not to have drought status, as July saw just 7 per cent of its expected rainfall.

Some parts of the region saw the mercury hit 30C yesterday, so residents were understandably unhappy to be left with no water.

In Marton-cum-Grafton, a small North Yorkshire village near Boroughbridge, it was the fourth time in two months the water has been shut off.

Last month, villagers raised the alarm when they could smell ammonia coming from Goker Beck and noticed the water had gone jet black.

It is thought to originate from a breached bund of a slurry pit nearby, and saw the water shut down as a precaution.

Since then, on three separate occasions residents have been without water due to burst mains as part of Yorkshire Water infrastructure work.

At the start of July children were sent home from school, while the outage over three days this week has led the pub to close.

Green Coun Arnold Warneken said: “Residents were left high and dry for two days. Yorkshire Water have been responsive to me, but that’s not reflected by people’s experiences in the community.

“There seems to be a disconnect between what's happening on the ground and the information people are being given.

“It's a real worry for vulnerable residents, and it’s affecting ordinary families who simply can't have a shower, flush the toilet or get on with everyday life.

“A large section of the village has been left without water, causing huge disruption and bringing local businesses to a standstill.

“It's hard enough for village pubs and shops to survive without being forced to close for two days.

“People understand that things can go wrong, but they do expect an alternative supply for basic sanitation, and clear communication.”

Meanwhile, in the Kirkgate area of Leeds residents were left without water for over 24 hours.

This was due to a burst main, likely as a result of a lack of soil moisture because of the sweltering weather.

A Yorkshire Water spokesperson said: “Our teams have now completed a repair to a burst main in Leeds city centre, which unfortunately left some properties temporarily without supply.

“We have been working on site 24/7 since around 1am Tuesday 28 July, attempting to locate and subsequently repair the main.

“It proved difficult to find, as it was an underground burst and water hadn't reached the surface.

“We had further difficulty in completing a permanent repair, so returning supply to all properties took longer than we would typically expect.”

They added: “We’re currently completing a clean water mains renewal project in Marton-cum-Grafton, as part of a wider £406m programme to replace over 1,000km of mains across Yorkshire.

“During the work, we have experienced a number of bursts on the main, which can happen as a result of pressure changes when mains are isolated and then brought back into the network.

“Unfortunately, this has led to loss of water supply for some properties in the village at various points since the work began. We’d like to apologise for this - we understand the inconvenience and disruption caused.

“The most recent burst has now been repaired, and we will continue to work quickly on the mains replacement scheme so that we can return things to normal for residents, and they can hopefully begin to feel the benefits of the work we are doing.”