'Gallons must be wasted weekly': Water leak on Eastbourne road has been ongoing for three months, according to resident

Daphne Connaughton, who lives in Upperton Gardens where the leak is happening, said she first noticed the water at the beginning of March – despite another resident telling her the issue been going on for three months.

The retired resident said: “Gallons must be being wasted weekly as this has been going on for three months. Many neighbours have reported it to South East Water, as well as myself.

“This is just one instance of South East Water’s appalling waste of an important commodity.”

Mrs Connaughton said she is concerned that the waste of water will not help if residents are asked to restrict their usage in the summer.

She added: “To allow this to happen is outrageous.”

Residents had been told that the issue would be fixed at the end of March or beginning of April, according to Mrs Connaughton.

She said she was later told that the repair was pushed back as workers could not find anywhere to park.

Mrs Connaughton added: “Surely leaks should be a top priority for them [South East Water]. It must be."

The resident also spoke about how detrimental the leak could be.

She said: “I hate waste. It is such a waste of a very valuable resource.”

Distribution manager for South East Water Ben Hewes said: “We’re very sorry to our customers affected by the leak in Upperton Gardens. We know how frustrating leaks can be and thank those who report them to us.

“We were notified about this leak and have attempted repairs on three separate occasions. Unfortunately, due to parking, we were unable to access the pipe to fix the leak on the first two occasions.

“On the most recent attempt, parking cones were placed in advance but these had been moved, again preventing us from carrying on repairing the pipe.

“Technicians are scheduled to attend again today (Thursday, May 11) to complete this repair and we are advising motorists to adhere to the no parking cones to allow our technicians to access the pipe work.

“We’d like to thank residents for their patience at this time.”

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