Homes in fifth day without water

A block of flats is being constructed at the back of the terrace

Residents in part of Berkshire are without water for a fifth day after the council and South East Water said they were not responsible for a leak.

Seven homes in Bell Street, Maidenhead, have been with no running water and a leak under their homes since Thursday.

Residents said the leak was from a pipe owned by developers Farr and Roberts, who are building flats nearby.

The company said that while they did not own the pipe they were arranging for contractors to fix it.

The work was expected to be carried out on Monday afternoon, a spokesman for Farr and Roberts said.

We have no power to go into a private property and start digging up the floor South East Water

A spokeswoman for South East Water said they had been to Bell Street with leak detection gear and determined that the leak was on private property.

She said South East Water had very limited powers to help the residents.

"We understand the frustration but we have no power to go into a private property and start digging up the floor," she said.

"We are supplying them with a list of preferred contractors and plumbers."

People living in the houses have no water upstairs and only a trickle downstairs.

We can hear gallons of water roaring down the street Alex Rooke Resident

Resident Alex Rooke said South East Water should have done something to help.

"[They] saw that all seven houses had no pressure and they heard the massive roaring leak below the ground and walked away telling us all to call a plumber as it was 'not their problem'," she said.

"We can't have a shower or run the washing machine or anything like that."

Ms Rooke said the leak was in the ground at the end of the terrace where the last property was knocked down a few months ago to make way for an access road to the new block of flats.

"The water board said 'I suggest you call a plumber', but it's not on our property," she said.

"Meanwhile we can hear gallons of water roaring down the street, it's very worrying.

"The area is full of manholes. It should never have been left like this."