Residents at Thirlmere Court were left without a working lift for days after the accidental leak
Residents were left without a flat at Riverside’s Thirlmere Court, Harding Close, Anfield(Image: Liverpool Echo)
The company responsible for water supplies across Liverpool and the wider North West has apologised after a contractor caused a leak at a retirement community leaving residents without a working lift. Earlier this week, while work was being carried out to install a water meter at a property in Thirlmere Court in Anfield, a contractor for United Utilities accidentally damaged a pipe in the building.
This caused a leak which in turn left areas flooded. Water supplies were shut off to prevent further damage and the leak isolated.
However, such was the severity of the water ingress from the customer’s flat, the lift shaft in the building was flooded. The building, which is operated by Riverside housing caters for those over-55.
A spokesperson for Riverside confirmed the company was not involved in the works and that most of the issues resulting from the flood had been resolved. United Utilities said it was liaising with the housing provider to arrange suitable compensation.
In a letter seen by the ECHO, Riverside confirmed to those living in Thirlmere Court that a pipe was cut when work was undertaken by United Utilities on Tuesday. Water left the lift shaft flooded and out of order until earlier today.
A spokesperson for Riverside said: “We’ve responded to a flooding incident that affected our customers at Thirlmere Court earlier this week. This was caused by a pipe being accidentally cut by United Utilities during a private appointment arranged by a customer within their flat.
United Utilities has issued advice to people (Image: Peter Byrne/PA Wire)
“We understand the concern and disruption this has caused for our customers and have worked urgently with contractors to restore services affected.
“Most issues have now been resolved, and our specialist contractor has been onsite today and the lift is now back in operation.
“We’ve carried out welfare checks for our customers and our team will be available at the scheme over the weekend to provide any further support. For reassurance, we’ve advised customers that the building has been confirmed safe by our fire compliance team, and the fire detection and alarm systems are still working.
“We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused by the unforeseen incident and appreciate our customers’ patience while we work to fully resolve this.”
The ECHO understands United Utilities offered to repair the damage but this is now expected to be invoiced by Riverside.
A spokesperson added: “We’d like to apologise to the impacted residents at Thirlmere Court for the damage and inconvenience that the leak caused. We are liaising with Riverside to ensure that we meet the costs of any repairs and agree suitable compensation.”