A MAN said a “strong flow” of water was left running through his garden for two weeks after “some type” of leak.

Alastair Smith, who lives in Wadeford, claimed he had problems with “a constant flow of water that had not existed previously” after some works carried out by Wessex Water.

Mr Smith also added the stream of water is still running through his garden with “gallons and gallons of water pouring away” in a time when the area has been moved into drought.

He said: “Nearly three weeks ago, Wessex Water attended to some work at the base of Foxdon Hill.

“Yet ever since there has been a constant flow of water that had not existed previously, presumably from some type of leak.

“I know this for a fact as the stream fed by the leak runs through my property and was previously dry, yet after Wessex Water’s works has been a strong flow.”

A spokesperson for Wessex Water said they are “aware” of the leak.

Mr Smith also said: “The surrounding issue is the fact that the area is in drought now.

“There have been problems for two weeks and a half. They were digging up and when they picked up and went away what had previously been a dry stream was a full stream running through my garden.

“You can hear the water running through the pipes, it’s not just a trickle. Gallons of water just disappeared because they have not fixed the leak.

“There is a message on their website about preserving water, it seems a bit hypocritical. The troubling thing is that water is being wasted.

“There could be a really good reason why there are gallons and gallons of water pouring away and if that’s the case, I would expect them to share it with the community.”

A spokesperson for Wessex Water also said that “in this case, the water is returning naturally to nearby watercourses” and the company is planning to carry out repair works.

The full statement read: “We’re aware of a mains leak beside a property at Cloverdale, Wadeford.

“The location of the leak means we will need to shut off customers’ water supplies for a short time in order to repair it – we didn’t want to do this unannounced when we visited two weeks ago.

“We’ve planned the repair for next Tuesday (September 6).

“We fix more than 1,200 leaks every month, often the same day as they’re reported, but this isn’t always possible on our rural networks.

“Unlike other companies, we haven’t had any supply issues or introduced a hosepipe ban this summer thanks to our customers using water responsibly and helping us to spot leaks such as this one.

“In this case, the water is returning naturally to nearby watercourses.”