'Water, water everywhere but not a drop on road!': Joy as Anglian Water fixes leak in Burgh le Marsh

The problem was highlighted to Lincolnshire World by Chris Bates, a volunteer with the Lincolnshire Light Railway, who has confirmed the leak has been fixed.

As reported, Chris said he became steamed up about it because nothing seemed to have been done to stop the leak – on the lane leading to Ingoldmells, just off the A158 between Fairburn's Egg Packing premises – for ‘at least two months’.

“As we are in the grip of a drought with calls for economy in the use of water (and hosepipe bans in some areas), I am dismayed to see millions of gallons of water pouring to waste in Burgh-le-Marsh, with nothing being done by Anglian Water about it,” he told us.

“I have reported this on the Fix My Street website and the only response is ‘we're investigating’.”

Lincolnshire World contacted Anglian Water, who told us they were not aware of the leakage but said they would investigate.

A spokesperson said: "It looks as though it’s been reported to FixMyStreet, rather than through our contact centre.

“Now we’re aware of the issue, one of our technicians is scheduled to investigate.”

Angian Water has now confirmed to Lincolnshire World that the leak has been fixed, much to the delight of Chris, who thanked us for intervening.

“A big, big thank you for enabling the water leak in Burgh-le-Marsh to be fixed,” he said. “I finally managed to visit the site (the road has been closed for a couple of weeks, repairs to the road, I think, rather than the burst) and my route home has varied to allow me to give one or two LCLR colleagues lifts to the station or to travel to the Boston area.

“Certainly you have done the trick. It looks as though the area has been repaired and there was no water flowing this evening from where it had done so previously.

“My eyebrows went up when I read the quote from the local Anglian Water manager being unaware of the leak and its scale. I would have thought he'd have some sort of monitor or supply and usage in the Skegness area -- either a good old fashioned gauge or something on his computer -- which should have suggested to him there was an abnormal amount of water flowing in the area.

“My report of the leak to Fix My Street eventually brought a response from Lincolnshire County Council saying ‘nothing to do with us’: no suggestion that as a supposedly public minded body they could alert Anglian Water -- email, phone call, even Whats App?

"Meanwhile, millions of gallons of water were pouring to waste at a time when all individuals and bodies (including Lincolnshire County Council) were supposed to be using water sparingly and responsibly.”