Trevor claims a million litres of water lost beneath garden every month (From Stroud News and Journal)

Trevor claims a million litres of water lost beneath garden every month

4:00pm Wednesday 15th February 2012 in News By Crispin Northey, Reporter for Nailsworth, Minchinhampton and Painswick

HOUSEHOLDER Trevor Allen claims a million litres of water is leaking beneath his garden every month.

He believes water is escaping from a pipe which runs beneath his garden and supplies a National Trust cattle trough on Bownham Common.

Businessman Mr Allen noticed the problem when he first moved into his house near Rodborough six years ago.

"At first it was quite funny that bizarrely we could hear water running beneath our garden but now it has gone beyond a joke," he said.

"All the water company needed to do was replace the pipe but after digging a trench in my garden all they did was repair it.

"The engineers said at the time that was leaking around 1,500 litres an hour, which is more than a million litres a month.

"The company knows it is losing water and that it is coming from the reservoir on Minchinhampton Common."

Severn Trent, which maintains water pipes in the Stroud area, said in December that it would relay 90 metres of pipe if the National Trust relocated the trough.

In a statement, National Trust rural surveyor Tim Barter said: "The National Trust has been aware of the problems with leaks in the water supply and has agreed with Severn Trent that a new pipe will be laid when ground conditions make it possible without causing unnecessary damage to the common.

“The existing water supply was turned off in October last year and a new water pipe will be installed before cattle return to the common in the spring.

“The pipe has been repaired in previous years but we appreciate that, with a very well stocked garden, further repairs would be disruptive to our neighbour (Mr Allen), so we have agreed with Severn Trent water for a new supply to be brought from the opposite direction, up the hill to the trough, avoiding the garden completely.”

However, despite the trust's statement, Mr Allen said the water is still leaking - a possible explanation is that someone turned the supply back on again via a tap located in a manhole.