7:09pm Tuesday 19th August 2008
By Tom Shepherd
A retired builder from Oxford has won a four-year battle to have a dangerous water main diverted from beneath his home.
Tony Woodley, 68, feared he would need to demolish an extension to his house in Iffley Road or face a £500,000 bill after Thames Water discovered the 24-inch thick pipe ran under the property.
Water mains should not run under houses, and a water company spokesman admitted that if it had burst, it "could have taken out the whole house".
Last night Mr Woodley spoke of his relief after the water company began work on a £500,000 diversion scheme - ending years of stress and tens of thousands of pounds in lost income.
He said: "It's been really stressful. I had a heart attack two-and-a-half years ago. I wasn't sleeping. All I was thinking was how to beat Thames Water."
The pipe was laid by Oxford City Council more than 50 years ago. But Mr Woodley and wife Sheila, 67, said no mention was made of it, or an adjacent gas main, when they bought the house in 1980.
In 1992, the couple spent £60,000 building a second storey to an exisiting extension and transformed the semi-detached house into four flats, three of which they rented out.
Twelve years later engineers working on a gas leak beneath the extension discovered the water main.
Thames Water insisted the main was listed on Land Registry records and the extension had to come down for safety reasons.
If the pipe burst, water would escape at a rate of 300 litres per second.
Thames Water told the couple they had three options: pay £500,000 to relocate the main; demolish the extension at a cost of £80,000; or strengthen the existing pipe at a cost of £250,000.
Mr Woodley, who said the couple had lost £80,000 in rent since 2004, and spent £8,000 in legal fees, refused to accept liability and threatened to take the matter to court.
Thames Water even offered to buy the couple's property at a reduced price, before agreeing, 18 months ago, to divert the pipe - and pay for the work.
Mr Woodley said: "It's a relief work has begun."
Thames Water spokesman Amy Dutton said work began on Monday and would take about 16 weeks.
She said: "The decision was made without acceptance of any liability on Thames Water for the situation - but we believe this is the right way forward.
"Diverting the main will alleviate the ongoing risk of the main bursting and causing substantial damage to the property."
Thames Water has created a temporary car park at the end of Cavell Road, and apologised for the disruption.
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