A village has been hit by three burst water mains in four days.

Staff at the Thatched Tavern pub in Eaton Road, Appleton, near Cumnor, spent three hours yesterday (25 October) mopping up water that had seeped through the front door from the flooded road outside.

Problems started when a water main fractured. That caused another pipe to rupture, sending water pouring down the road.

Water flooded the main bar of the pub and part of the restaurant.

Barmaid Heather Fox said: "Most of the bar floor was covered to a depth of about two inches but fortunately only a small part of the restaurant area was affected."

On Tuesday (22 October) a service pipe in Netherton Road fractured, cutting off residents and reducing pressure to homes in other parts of the village.

Thames Water spokesman Andrew Boyd said: "The two incidents are not connected. It's an unfortunate co-incidence for which we apologize to the people of Appleton."

Meanwhile, BT engineers have replaced a faulty underground cable which had affected services to six households in Eaton Road. The telephone fault was not connected to the water problems.

"Until our engineers carry out more detailed examinations we are not sure what caused the pipes to fail. It could be ground movement, tree roots penetrating the pipework or busy traffic causing problems."

Tuesday's water failure caused problems at Cheers Farm owned by Rubin and Sue White, who have a herd of 120 Friesian cattle.

Mrs White said: "After we finish milking we have to clean out the parlour and the equipment but the loss of water meant we could not do that until the evening."

The chairman of Appleton Parish Council Margaret Reading said: "This is the second interruption to our water supply in less than a week and it is very annoying. A few years ago we had regular problems but improvements were carried out and the position had improved.

"Let's hope these latest problems are just a co-incidence."

Water was not the only

BT spokesman Jason Mann said: "It has taken us nearly a week to replace a 260-metre length of cable in Eaton Road because of its complex nature.

"Some customers were cut off and others suffered noisy reception on the line."