Bristol Water has been accused of installing a 'trip hazard' in the pavement outside people's homes. A new stop-tap cover was installed in Melbourne Drive in Chipping Sodbury, which has been left sticking out of the ground.
A neighbour, who asked to remain anonymous, said work was carried out on Saturday (December 17). He said it was "astonished" by the state it was left in, and is concerned that someone could trip and fall because of it.
He claimed the hazard is right outside bungalows where elderly people live. He told Bristol Live: "It is sticking up at least two inches above the pavement. The pavement surface has new tarmac, but the cover is way above it.
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"The cover and tarmac are black. It is astonishing that Bristol Water employees could consider this satisfactory."
Photos taken by the man show the cover raised above the freshly laid tarmac, just outside of the entrance to one of the properties in the street. The grass and other parts of the pavement nearby were covered with ice.
A Bristol Water spokesperson said on Wednesday: “We are investigating what’s happened in this location because our crew have reported this is not how they left the site. The crew visited the site this morning to make it safe and will return later today to full rectify the issue.
"Our operational teams have been working around the clock tackling burst pipes across our supply area. The sudden change in temperatures leads to ground movement, causing frozen pipes to leak or burst.
"We apologise for the inconvenience caused. We’re working as quickly as we can to resolve any problems in our pipe network. It might take us longer than usual to repair some leaks as we need to prioritise the most urgent ones.”
A log of roadworks on one.network stated that Bristol Water was carrying out works for a new service connection and that there might be some carriageway incursion.
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