Sheffield water leak: Mystery as unknown man 'fully opens' hydrant in High Green causing massive mains leak

Residents on Kinsey Road, High Green, were baffled today (May 20) as they stepped outside to find a mains pipe gushing onto the street.

The leak reportedly began around 11.30am.

Photos show how the street was quickly flooded, with one resident saying a police car even arrived on scene.

Now, Yorkshire Water says the leak was caused by an unknown person “fully opening” a fire hydrant.A spokesperson said: “One of our technicians visited this morning after we were alerted to water gushing down the street.

"When we got there, we found that the hydrant was fully open and we’re not sure how this has happened.

"We quickly closed the hydrant and got everything back to normal.”

Meanwhile, a resident told The Star how the leak was started by a man who got out of a van, opened the hydrant and drove off.

The resident – who asked not to be named – said they recognised the van as belonging to a water company, but could not be sure which one.

The spokesperson for Yorkshire Water added: “We’d like to remind everyone not to attempt to interfere with hydrants as this is a unnecessary waste of water and could pose a significant risk if they’re damaged as the fire service need to use them in emergencies.”

Hydrants in England are indicated by square yellow ‘H’ markers found along streets.