A gang of around 40 people attacked United Utilities engineers with "bricks and abuse".
The engineers were called to fix a fire hydrant in Huyton on Monday which had been deliberately tampered with. It left people on Bruton Road without water on one of the hottest days of the year.
A gang of around 40 people deliberately set off a fire hydrant in the area, according to United Utilities. The sudden loss of large volumes of water resulted in some homes in the area, on one of the hottest nights on record, having no water, or it was discoloured when they ran the tap.
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When United Utilities engineers tried to turn off the hydrant to restore supplies, they faced a barrage of bricks and abuse and had to wait before being able to take action. Phil Sweeney, Head of Central Operations at United Utilities, said: “Fire hydrant abuse is not harmless fun – it is dangerous, costly, and an incredible waste of water, especially during times of high demand.
"Those who vandalise hydrants are not only putting themselves at risk of injury from highly pressurised water, they are also impacting our ability to keep water flowing to homes, businesses, hospitals and vulnerable customers.
“Ultimately, this type of abuse could impact on the fire service’s ability to tackle a blaze, whether at a property or on moorland, and put lives at risk.”
Huyton local policing Inspector Mark Berry of Merseyside Police said: “This type of selfish and irresponsible behaviour will not be tolerated. Access to water supplies is essential, particularly during the current spell of very hot weather, and this sort of behaviour, whilst it may seem fun to some, has a direct impact on other people, including the elderly and those with young children and babies.
“Damaging and letting off hydrants may also impact on fire crews being able to access essential water to tackle fires and could have far reaching consequences. In addition, abusing workers and emergency services who attend to deal with the incidents is clearly unacceptable and such behaviour will be dealt with.
“I would encourage anyone who witnesses damage being caused to fire hydrants to DM @MerPolCC or call 101. Information can also be passed on to @CrimestoppersUK on 0800 555 111.”
Phil Sweeney added: “Our teams, and the fire service and police, should be able to do their jobs safely, but when attending these incidents they often find themselves facing verbal and physical abuse. This means we have to wait for crowds to disperse before shutting off the hydrant, meaning a longer impact for customers."
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