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Published: 04 June 2010
by PETER GRUNER

A CRUSADING Highbury pensioner is writing to his “old friend” the Mayor of London to see if he can put pressure on Thames Water to repair a pipe which is leaking into a local park.

Joe Hagland, 75, who used to deliver half a dozen national newspapers to Boris Johnson every day, said: “If anyone can rattle chains at Thames Water Boris can.”

Mr Hagland is angry that water has been pouring onto a footpath from a broken pipe in Highbury Fields and nothing has been done.

A retired railway worker, Mr Hagland delivered newspapers to Mr Johnson prior to him becoming mayor when he lived in nearby Furlong Road.

“Boris was always very kind and friendly to me. He paid his newspaper bills on time and always gave me a generous tip at Christmas.”

Mr Hagland spoke out about the leak after reading an interview in last week’s Tribune with writer Alex Pascall, who complained about “rude” and “unhelpful” customer service staff at Thames Water when he reported a burst pipe which had taken seven months to repair.

Mr Hagland, from Ronalds Road, said that for eight weeks at least water has been pouring out of the broken pipe at Highbury Fields opposite the café and forming a large pool on the footpath.

He added: “I walk this way every morning and the water is always there. It’s been pouring out 24 hours a day for two months, which is an awful lot of water. It’s an absolute waste at a time we are being told to conserve diminishing resources and could also be a potential hazard.

“An old person walking here at night could slip on the watery footpath and hurt themselves.”

But he’s most annoyed with what he said was a poor response from Thames Water. 

“I spoke to one person and they rang me back saying it was being dealt by someone else and they were passing the information on,” said Mr Hagland.

“When I rang the other person they were not helpful at all and even got the wrong location.

“I then told the Thames employee that I’m friends with the Mayor of London and I shall be writing to him about this issue. 

“If anyone can rattle a few chains at Thames Water I’m sure Boris can.” 

A Thames Water spokeswoman said: “Following a report of a leak in Highbury Place on May 24, our technician investigated the next day and stopped it. A device that had been placed on the fire hydrant to measure pressure was causing it to trickle. We have now removed this. Since this date we have not been made aware of a further leak. 

“We will go out today and investigate.”