Residents plagued by flooding are claiming victory after a water giant backed down and agreed to fix a persistent leak six years earlier than planned.

A split water pipe on Tytherington Road has flooded the road at least four times in the past year, causing road closures and bus cancellations.

And in a letter to Macclesfield MP David Rutley, United Utilities said it would take up to SEVEN YEARS to fix the problem.

But residents are breathing a sigh of relief after the water company said the job will now be completed in under 12 months.

John Wallis, a former engineer who led the charge against the water company, said he was shocked when United Utilites responded to Mr Rutley saying the worked would be carried out between 2020 and 2025.

In the letter to Mr Rutley, Steve Mogford, the chief executive of United Utilities, blamed the cost of the work for the delay.

He wrote: “We do have a project in hand to install surge protection on the main in question, however, the cost of this work is substantial and it is currently included in our next investment period with the aim to complete between 2020 and 2025.”

But Mr Wallis said that was not good enough and contacted the Express with his complaint.

He said: “When the pipe bursts the road has to be closed. It is an eminently unsatisfactory situation particularly for the many older folk, who each time lost their lifeline subsidised bus service to town, because the road had to be closed for seven to 10 days. After four water main bursts in 12 months, at the Oldhams Rise junction with Tytherington Drive, I decided to attempt to find a long term solution.”

The 84-year-old added: “Happily they now found it possible to move the project forward into the current investment period. Good news indeed, as this would mean solving the problem within a year rather than the up to seven years originally forecast, for which Tytherington will feel duly relieved.

“Relieved also will be those unwary mothers who drop off their children each day at Marlborough Primary School, who will no longer have to worry about missing the scarcely adequate temporary signage, nor have to divert or perform multi-point turns to escape the UU cul-de-sac; or resort to even more than usual chaotic parking.”

A spokesman for United Utilities said the repair has become a priorty due to the number of bursts over the last year.

He said a £150,000 scheme has been designed to install a surge protection system on the pipe which takes water pumped from treatment works at Tytherington to the local service reservoir at Hurdsfield.

He said: “We recognise the inconvenience the bursts have caused and we are committed to solving the problem. We will be able to minimise disruption by carrying out the work at the treatment plant and we are not planning to replace the water main.”

He added that the work will be completed in the next nine to 12 months.