Residents are at the end of their tether due to continuous water shortages, leaks, problems with high pressure, and bursting pipes that are ruining their homes.

People living in Billington have had to put up with numerous problems with their water pipes for years and are blaming the issues on extremely high water pressure from mains pipes serving the village.

One resident has had to replace his floor three times in three years due to water ingress at his stop tap, another experienced more than seven leaks in the space of a month, and people living on the Pasturelands estate fear their pipes could blow at any minute.

Lancashire Telegraph:

United Utilities have been contacted on numerous occasions, and have agreed to fit pressure regulators at some properties and on some mains pipes to help decrease the water pressure, but residents are saying it isn't enough and have been left fuming after they claim the water provider asked them to contribute financially to the cost of fitting the regulators.

Steve Swain, who has lived on Pasturelands Drive for 21 years said: "We are in the middle of a fight for them to fit us a pressure reducing valve.

"They offered us £25 towards the cost, which is an insult.

"We would then have to pay the cost of a plumber to come out and fit it, which we would then be liable for should the pipes still burst.

"It's not us who should be liable, it's United Utilities.

"They say they're planning to make some improvements but haven't given us any dates for when these works will be carried out. We feel like they're just fobbing us off."

Last week, Terry Dewhurst, 75, said the ground floor of his house on Fells View had been ruined and his wife was a nervous wreck because of the ongoing problems.

Lancashire Telegraph:

He said: "Today my house ground floor has been ruined by extreme water pressure from the water ingress pipe at my stop tap.

"This is the third new floor in the past three years, all caused by extreme water pressure.

"Surely United Utilities need to fit a pressure reducing valve to alleviate this extreme water pressure?

"But my problem now is, do we remove all flooring in my dining room for the third time?"

A United Utilities engineer was called out to Mr Dewhurst's home and eventually fitted an adapter valve to his property and seven others homes on the same supply line.

He added: "As we turned all three operational valves back on he was ‘amazed’ at how much pressure was in the water line and said he would be reporting back to his management team.

"He agreed a ‘reducing valve’ is needed at the point of supply to all eight houses on this ‘common’ line."

Lancashire Telegraph:

At the end of September a pressure management valve was fitted at the front of Ebenezer Terrace, further along in the village, and Councillor Ged Mirfin said the pressure had dropped slightly but only by two bars.

He said: "The pressure has dropped from 10.4 millibars to 8.6.

"It should be below 4.3. In other words it is twice what it should be and people are still experiencing problems.

"Pasturelands Drive needs it's own regulator as does the bulk of the houses on the estate."

Cllr Mirfin said the next logical step would be to take the residents' complaints to OFWAT (the economic regulator of the water sector in England and Wales), as householders were surely due compensation from United Utilities as they had failed to solve the problem.

Lancashire Telegraph:

A spokesperson for United Utilities said: “We’re very sorry that people in Billington have been experiencing problems with their water supply.

"After a series of bursts on Billington Gardens we installed a pressure management valve at the end of September which will help prevent further supply interruptions to the 400 households on this network.

"We have given affected customers £25 to say sorry for the issues they’ve experienced.

“While there have been no bursts on Pasturelands and Fells View, which are on a separate supply network, we are investigating ways to improve pressure management in this area as well.

"Water pressure levels on this network are usually at the higher end of the standard scale to ensure supply is maintained to those customers living on higher ground in this hilly area.”

OFWAT have also been contacted for a statement.