Gas main blunder in historic village

A SHOWPIECE cobbled street laid only two years ago in a historic village centre will have to be ripped up because of a blunder over replacing an old gas main.
Utilities giant National Grid believed there was a 12 inch main beneath the street and planned to insert a plastic tube inside it.
But when workmen dug down they discovered it was only a 10 inch main – too small to have a tube inserted.
Now they will have to dig a trench the full length of The Cross at Lymm,

Cheshire – and they have put off the job until later this year.
Shopkeepers are furious. They had wanted the job done in traditionally quiet January and now fear the much bigger job will drag on into the pre-Christmas period.
Phil Sexton, chairman of Lymm Traders, said: “It’s like a comical farce – except that it isn’t funny.”
To make matters worse, Warrington Borough Council has apparently mislaid a quantity of setts it had put aside for essential repairs to the cobbled street.
“Nobody seems to know what has happened to them,” said Mr Sexton.
Butcher Malcolm Hopkinson said he had been told replacement cobbles would have to be obtained from abroad.
Traders are now pressing for the work to be put back to next January.
Sharon Walls, highways assets manager at the council said: “The works have unfortunately been delayed.
“The replacement works will now take place later in the year and are likely to be on a larger scale. We will of course be working in conjunction with the gas company to ensure disruptions are kept to a minimum.”
A spokeswoman for National Grid said: “We do apologise to residents of Lymm for the inconvenience. We are investigating why our records were not accurate.
“But this work is essential – it has already been put off for a number of years and is becoming critical. We want Lymm to have a safe and reliable gas supply.
“The work will now take about six weeks and the council want us to try and do it during the school summer holidays.”