Repairs to a collapsed sewer in Reading town centre will finish today Friday 24th May.

Thames Water has replaced 20 metres of nine-inch sewer pipe under the pedestrian area of Friar Street providing a more robust sewer system.

The job to repair the pipe five metres underground started in November and has seen engineers battle with difficult ground conditions and delicate foundations on nearby buildings.

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Andrew Popple, Thames Water’s head of programme delivery, said:

"This has been a particularly tricky job to carry out. The pipe was more than five metres below the ground and we had to be careful not to disturb the foundations of surrounding buildings while we did the repair.

"Heavy vibrations could have damaged St Laurence’s Church, so we had to dig much more slowly than normal.

"We're pleased to say that we will finish on today and we'd like to thank everyone for their patience during this work."

The repair work involved digging a five-metre deep trench in the busy town centre street and moving two water mains to allow access to the collapsed sewer.

(CD)