DULVERTON district councillor Mike Gammon accused Wessex Water of double standards this week after water was left gushing from a broken pipe for more than a week. Cllr Gammon said he had tried on numerous occasions to report the leak only to be left floating in the water company's telephone system. He said: "What really got me was the fact that, while I was on hold, I was continually being told by this automated message how to save water. "It seems to be one rule for us and another for them. "I got so fed up listening to it that I hung up and decided to call the Free Press instead." Cllr Gammon claimed it took a number of days before someone from Wessex Water inspected the leak off Dulverton's Fore Street last week and by Tuesday residents were still waiting to hear what action was being taken. The Free Press contacted Wessex Water and was told the company would be repairing the leak on Wednesday, a week after the inspector's visit. A spokesman for the water firm said that, although the leak had been located in a customer's private service pipe, the company would be carrying out the work free of charge. He said: "After receiving a call about the leak, one of our customer service technicians visited Dulverton last Wednesday. "The leak was confirmed and the repair was scheduled to take place on Wednesday." He said Wessex Water always aimed to fix leaks within five working days of an inspection taking place.
