Burst Pipe in Matlock? What to Do in the First 10 Minutes

Minutes 1 to 3: Turn off the water at the stopcock

Turn off the water supply before you do anything else. Your internal stopcock is usually under the kitchen sink. In older Matlock terraces and cottages it might be in the cellar, under the stairs, or behind a panel in a downstairs toilet. Turn it clockwise until it stops. If it is stiff, wrap a tea towel round it for grip, but don't force it so hard that the spindle snaps.

If the stopcock won't move or you can't find it, use the external stop tap. This is normally under a small metal or plastic cover in the pavement or front path, and you may need a long stop tap key to reach it. Lots of houses on the steeper streets around Matlock and Wirksworth have shared supplies, so you could end up cutting off a neighbour as well. Knock on their door and tell them.

Minutes 3 to 5: Make the electrics safe

If water is coming through a ceiling or getting near sockets, light fittings or the consumer unit, switch the electricity off at the main switch, but only if you can reach it without standing in water. If the consumer unit is already wet, leave it alone, keep everyone out of that room and ring 105 to report a dangerous electrical situation.

A bulging ceiling with a light fitting in it is a particular hazard. Don't switch that light on. If the plaster is sagging, put a bucket underneath and carefully make a small hole with a screwdriver so the water drains in one place and doesn't bring the whole ceiling down.

Minutes 5 to 10: Drain the system and protect your home

Once the supply is off, there is still water sitting in the pipes and tanks. Run the cold taps on the lowest floor to empty the pipework. If you have a hot water cylinder and a cold tank in the loft, which is common in older Derbyshire homes, switch off the boiler or immersion heater too. Then run the hot taps to drain what is left.

Next, use the time you have to limit the damage:

• Move electrical items, rugs and anything valuable out of the wet area
• Take photos and video of the damage and of the burst itself for your insurer
• Put buckets and towels down, and lift carpet edges so the underlay can dry
• Leave a note by the stopcock so nobody turns it back on

Why pipes burst around Matlock, and what happens next

Most bursts here come from freezing. Homes higher up, on Matlock Moor, around Riber, or out towards Bonsall, often sit several degrees colder than the valley floor. Pipes in lofts, outhouses, garages and cellars freeze first. Pipes can also fail through age, corrosion, a nail through the floorboards, or slowly leaking joints. Those slow leaks are the ones that end up doing the most damage, because nobody spots them for months.

A visible burst under the sink is usually a straightforward plumbing repair. If water is showing up but you can't see where it comes from, for example a damp patch on a wall, water under a floor, or a water meter still turning with every tap off, you need leak detection before anyone starts lifting floors. Thermal imaging, acoustic listening and tracer gas can locate the leak with no or very little damage. Costs vary with the property and how difficult access is. A typical residential trace is usually a few hundred pounds, which is often less than the cost of exploratory digging.

If the leak turns out to be on the supply pipe outside your boundary, it is Severn Trent's responsibility, and you can report it to them directly.