NEIGHBOURS have voiced their dismay at watching water flood a pavement near their homes for weeks as the country faces water shortages.

People living in Elgar Close, Buckhurst Hill, say the water has been gushing from the ground near their flats for about eight weeks while neither Sanctuary Housing, which owns the land, or Thames Water have fixed it.

Leonard Williams, 85, whose home is opposite the flooded path, said: "With the water shortages at the moment, you’re not telling me that’s not wasting a lot of water.

"I’m worried about flushing the toilet and water’s pouring out of there.

"It’s like a miniature waterfall. There are two pipes where it’s coming from.

"I’m shocked it’s been left this long."

Carole Kitts, 73, whose kitchen looks out on to the path, said: "It's not a puddle any more. It's more like a lake.

"It's a very fast flow, like a river would run, and it's collected all along the path where people have to walk.

"As the water is pouring down, it's dampening the mud."

She said it was worrying that water was being wasted as the country faces a drought this year due to the dry winter.

"It's hard to believe that this has been allowed to go on."

She said the last she heard from her landlords was that they were setting up a meeting with the water authority to work out who should carry out repairs.

Her neighbour, Joan Compton, 79, said: "We can't walk towards the car park because it's like a river. I would think it's about two or three inches deep.

"I've called the housing association about four or five times and I'm fed up of ringing.

"I'm worried about water being wasted. There must be gallons wasted since it happened.

"It's not just dripping out, it's pouring."

A Thames Water spokeswoman said: "The leak is on a privately-owned pipe and we have been assisting the housing association with this.

"This was first reported on February 22 and we spoke with the housing association the same day and they said they’d get someone out as soon as possible."

She added that the water company would send an engineer to help Sanctuary Housing fix the problem on Tuesday (March 20).

Emma Keegan, regional director for the housing association, said: “We’re aware of the problem and are working with Thames Water to identify the source of the leak and repair it as soon as possible.

"The site has been secured and measures taken to stem the flow of water into the drainage system."

Click here to follow the Epping Forest Guardian on Twitter