Water bosses defend delay in closing burst main

Around 70,000 people could have been left without water if a burst mains pipe in Slateford was closed off as soon as it began to leak, Scottish Water has said.

The firm was criticised by residents of Allan Park Road after Saturday's leak left the street submerged.

The pipe burst shortly after 3.30am but was not switched off until about 6am, by which time some gardens were under several feet of water.

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A Scottish Water spokesman said that simply shutting down the pipe would have left up to 70,000 people without water.

He said: "Removing this section of the network could have caused further implications in central Edinburgh.

"Therefore it was necessary for our teams to carefully plan the redistribution of the water network in this area to maintain supplies elsewhere in the Capital and restore supplies to those customers in the immediate area."