THE SOURCE of a mysterious water leak which has turned back yards of homes in Walmsley Street, Darwen, into an accident blackspot could be a forgotten stream.

Pensioner, Mary Bromley's family used to own an allotment where St James' Estate is now on Walmsley Road.

The 80-year-old, who lives in nearby Beech Avenue, said: "I remember there was a stream in the allotments which never dried up. When the estate was being built, the builders kept a pump working night and day but couldn't stop the water seeping through into the foundations.

"They eventually blocked it off and it seems to have found its way out onto Walmsley Street."

As the Citizen reported last week, residents living in Walmsley Street say they have put up with the water torture for the last 40 years.

Many believed the source was the adjacent Subscription Bowling Club in Anyon Street and the club accepted there could be a spring underneath their green.

Meanwhile, Blackburn Borough Council's highways management team leader, George Bell, said: "We've found a pipe underneath the bowling green and we're trying to find out whether it's broken.

"There could be some truth in Mrs Bromley's claim but the problem could be a culverted water course. We are continuing our investigations."

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