Showcase garden that became a lake

GED Hunter’s one and-a-half acre garden was his pride and joy and something of a landmark on the A56 Higher Lane at Lymm – until a burst water main transformed it into a lake!
As the recent snow and ice started to thaw he expected to see landscaped greenery but all he could see was water – more and more of it. He just couldn’t believe how much water the thaw was causing.
Then he realised what had happened. A water main had burst outside his home, Wildersmoor House – and the water was pouring into his garden.
He promptly reported the matter to United Utilities – but five days later the water was still flowing and his garden had been transformed into a lake. In places it was nearly two feet deep and the only way he could reach his shed was by rowing boat.
United Utilities dug up the road, erected temporary traffic lights and a one-way traffic system was operating. Two teams of workmen visited – but both went away again saying: “It’s a bigger problem than we thought.”
At the third attempt they managed to stem the flow of water.
Ged said: “Fortunately, the house stands fairly high, so the water has not got inside. But my garage looks more like a boathouse and the only way I could reach my shed, so see if it had been flooded, was by boat.
“Fortunately, I have a rowing boat, but I never expected to have to use it in my garden.
“The garden is about one and-a-half acres and I reckon a third of it is now under water.
“I cannot see why, even if they couldn’t stop the water flowing, they could not have diverted it into a nearby field. But it is just pouring into the garden like a small river.
“I have had a pump going day and night long, pumping water down my drains. But it did not start lowering the water level until they stopped the leak. If I hadn’t had a pump, I think the water level would have been even higher.
“It’s a lovely, mature, landscaped garden. But what it will be like after this I don’t know. It will take ages to drain away.”
A spokesman for United Utilities said: “We’re really sorry for the inconvenience this caused our customer.
“The majority of our customers in Lymm enjoy a reliable water supply, so it’s disappointing when people are affected like this.
“We had to carry out the repair while the water was flowing through the pipe, otherwise we would have had to turn off the main, stopping water getting to half of Lymm. Unfortunately, this also meant there was some flooding in the area.”
Pictures: Ged Hunter goes boating – in his landscaped garden.