COVENTRY MESSAGE BOARD

Discoloured water, low pressure and even no water at all, reported by homeowners

Vandals in Wood End have been breaking open water hydrants, cutting off people’s water supply.

Severn Trent Water has called on the culprits to stop opening the hydrants - which is illegal and could land them with a £1,000 fine - after receiving a number of complaints from customers.

Some homeowners in Wood End have reported discoloured water in their homes, low pressure and even no water at all.

Severn Trent say the hydrants can be broken causing problems for the fire service if they need to use them to put out fires.

Hayley O’Malley, area operations lead for Warwickshire for Severn Trent, said: “We believe that people are opening up our hydrants to help local people keep cool as the temperature soars, but it wastes a huge amount of water at a time when we’re asking everyone to use water wisely and to save water in their home and garden.

“It can also cause discolouration for hundreds of customers which obviously is not a great experience for our customers.

“We really need to know when and where people are doing this and, if we find them, then it could lead to prosecution.”

The problem comes as Coventry basks in the highest temperatures of the year so far and water usage has increased.

Severn Trent say that customers have been using 100 million litres of water more than usual - an increase of around 15 per cent.

If anyone spots illegal hydrant use they are asked to contact Severn Trent on 0800 783 4444.

Firefighters attacked in attempt to turn water hydrants off in Wood End

Firefighters in Coventry have warned they might not be able to effectively tackle any fires in Wood End because the water hydrants have been tampered with.

And their attempts to turn the hydrants off have been met with resistance, with firefighters claiming youths have hurled stones and bottles at them.

Crews from Foleshill Fire Station have been called to the Wood End area a number of times over the last two days, with around eight or nine hydrants having been tampered with.

But despite complaints from local residents of low water pressure, fire crews are having trouble tackling the problem because the safety of the crews can't be guaranteed.

The Foleshill Fire Station Watch Commander said: "We've had to go out eight or nine times over the last two days to turn off hydrants which have been turned on by local youths.

"Stones and bottles have been thrown at our crews, we've had threats of violence and abuse hurled at us.

"It's gotten to a point where we can't turn the hydrants off for crew safety. The police have assisted us on a couple of occasions, but they can't come out as often as the hydrants are being turned on.

"Realistically, if there was a fire in the area, we wouldn't be able to tackle it effectively because the hydrants are being improperly used."

Police attacked while protecting firefighters during Wood End unrest

A police officer has been attacked while protecting firefighters in Wood End following days of unrest in the area.

Firefighters were called to the area a number of times over the weekend because fire hydrants were being tampered with but the crews from Binley and Foleshill Fire Stations were met with resistance from youths.

Officers from West Midlands Police were called to assist but they too were the victims of verbal abuse and had stones and bottles thrown in their direction.

One police officer was struck by a filled water bottle on Hillmorton Road yesterday afternoon, prompting the police to launch an investigation into the assault.

Crews from Foleshill Fire Station have been called to the Wood End area a number of times over the last two days, with around eight or nine hydrants having been tampered with.

However, local youths have been resisting the firefighters' efforts to turn the hydrants off, with threats of violence and missiles being thrown.

And the Watch Commander at Foleshill has warned that they might not be able to deal with fires in the area at present, due to a potential water shortage.

He said: "It's gotten to a point where we can't turn the hydrants off for crew safety. The police have assisted us on a couple of occasions, but they can't come out as often as the hydrants are being turned on."

Yet more problems with fire hydrants

Incredibly, despite the obvious need for water during this dry spell, Coventry's fire crews are still dealing with problems relating to fire hydrants.

Just days after CoventryLive revealed that Foleshill's fire crews had come under attack for trying to switch off hydrants which had been tampered with, Watch Commander Andy Higgins revealed that Binley too, have been having trouble.

He said: "That's a whole nother problem.

"A short while ago we had a key and bar stolen - you know, the key to turn the hydrants on.

"I don't think people realise the dangers. The water pressure could take your head off.

"There's a supply issue for local residents, but we also need that water to fight fires. It's a real issue."