Big clean up after water main bursts again in Huyton THE big clean-up was under way last night after up to 100 homes were devastated by floods gushing from a burst water main. At least seven families were offered alternative accommodation after Knowsley council officers visited homes in Huyton to assess residents’ needs.
Three schools in Knowsley and two in Liverpool were closed after water supplies were cut off, but they were expected to re-open as normal today.
Around 25,000 households were also affected as engineers worked through the day to restore supplies.
As residents tried to clean up their homes, loss adjustors visited properties in Page Moss Avenue and Huyton House Road, where the water mains burst at around 8am.
A drop-in centre manned by United Utilities and Knowsley council staff was opened at the Gate Community Centre, in Princess Drive, for people affected by the water.
The flood started after a digger punctured a 44-inch line on the corner of the two roads, causing a huge burst and throwing rubble all over the road.
It was the third burst in the area in just 18 months.
United Utilities, Huyton firefighters and council officers were all sent to the area as dirty water gushed into people’s homes.
A heavily pregnant woman was rescued from her home in an inflatable raft by firefighters as water flooded her property.
Emma Cunningham, 23, who is due to give birth to a boy in a week, was forced to lean out of an upstairs window as the flood waters engulfed her house.
She said: “The water level was so high inside the house it cut the phone off so I had to wave for help.
“I did not want to touch the water because it could be contaminated and I have got to think about the baby.”
Her two-year-old daughter was lifted out by fire crews while Mrs Cunningham was helped into a life raft and ferried to safety.
She said: “It was embarrassing but it was also devastating. We have been doing up the baby’s room but now cannot go back to the house.”
Mrs Cunningham and her husband Anthony, 37, face the prospect of moving in with her parents in Wavertree or staying in hotels in the run-up to the birth.
Mr Cunningham revealed it was the second time their home was hit.
He said: “It took 18 months for us to get it sorted last time, and now we have got to go through it all again.
“Hotels are not the place for babies and youngsters.
“We had the house looking nice for the new baby, and were so excited about bringing him home.
“But this will take six months to dry out and everything is ruined.”
Michelle Roberts, 20, was walking to work when the main burst.
She said: “I was heading to work when the crane dug into the pavement next to me.
“There was a bang and I just hid my face and went up against the wall.”
A spokesman for United Utilities said supplies had been returned to most of the 25,000 people affected by the burst.
He said: “We are bringing in water through other pipes. A small number of people may also experience some discolouration in their supply.
“This is harmless and there is no cause for concern.
“Between 50 and 100 properties in the immediate area were flooded because of the burst. Loss adjusters are on site visiting those whose properties have been flooded and a clean-up operation has begun.”
He said issues around compensation would be dealt with on a case-by-case basis
THE POST