AN Ipswich couple appealed to a water company to stop a leak at their home after passers-by repeatedly accused them of wasting water.Janet and Raymond Paternoster were left so frustrated by the constant suggestions they were being irresponsible by letting water run from their Beechcroft Road property that they considered putting a sign out the front saying it wasn't their fault.

AN Ipswich couple appealed to a water company to stop a leak at their home after passers-by repeatedly accused them of wasting water.

Janet and Raymond Paternoster were left so frustrated by the constant suggestions they were being irresponsible by letting water run from their Beechcroft Road property that they considered putting a sign out the front saying it wasn't their fault.

But despite being in the grip of a drought, according to the Environment Agency, Anglian Water left the leak running for four days before fixing the problem.

“People keep knocking on my door saying 'do you realise you've got a leak'. They think we're wasting water,” Mrs Paternoster said.

“They are getting off the bus outside our home and trying to step over the water on the pavement.”

Mrs Paternoster first noticed the leak from the water meter last Monday night and her husband reported it to Anglian Water first thing Tuesday morning.

The water supplier said that because the leak was a low priority it would take between seven and ten days before an employee could come out to fix it - but that left the Paternosters fielding complaints from passers-by.

Mrs Paternoster said: “It is a waste of water. Anglian Water didn't seem at all bothered.”

But when The Evening Star contacted the company, the leak was quickly upgraded to a higher priority.

A spokesman for the company said: “With leaks we have a priority system. Those who are without water or have low pressure they are the ones we go to first.

“Then we look at other factors, such as has the road been damaged or have properties been flooded.

“Because there is a bus stop nearby we need to push this up the priority list.”

Anglian Water also came under fire this week for taking weeks to fix a leak which pumped out gallons of water in front of houses.

The water had been overflowing in Hocket Crescent, Tunstall, since last month but after residents complained the company stressed that job was also a low priority.

A spokesman for the company said: “We appreciate that residents in Tunstall may feel we should have got out more quickly to fix this particular leak, but would like to assure them that our response is appropriate to the scale of the burst.”

According to latest figures, Anglian Water wastes 80 millions of gallons every day in East Anglia.

Weblink: www.anglianwater.co.uk