AN ANGRY landlady has accused North West Water of causing chaos and wasting thousands of gallons of water in Rawtenstall.

The company is replacing worn-out mains and contractors have been working in the town for five weeks.

Margaret Ellis, who runs the Old House At Home in Newchurch Road with her husband Keith, said: "Literally thousands of gallons of water have been pumping down the road for over a week.

"I think it is appalling to think that all this water has gone to waste while the restrictions are in place."

Mrs Ellis claims the workmen have caused major disruptions by digging up several roads in the area. She added: "For over a week we couldn't get into the pub car park because they had blocked the exit. "Green Street and Union Street have both been blocked and if there was a serious fire the fire engines would not be able to get through.

"All the people who live round here are sick to the back teeth with the situation, everybody who comes into the pub has been complaining about what has been going on."

A spokesman for North West Water said the work in Newchurch Road should be completed by this weekend. But the bad news is £5 million worth of replacement work is due to take place in Rossendale over the next year.

The spokesman said: "The problem we had in the Newchurch Road area were caused because the mains were over 100 years old and situated next to an electricity cable.

"Instead of using mechanical equipment we had to dig down by hand to avoid the electricity cable.

"Water has been pumped through to lubricate the old mains to get the equipment through the old pipes."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.