Metal thieves who attempted to steal manhole covers from Ross, caused thousands of pounds of damage to several properties in the town when they dropped one of the covers onto a valve, which caused the water pressure to soar.

The police have confirmed that a number of other manhole covers were stolen and they are investigating these thefts.

Welsh Water said: "Third party action caused damage to our drinking water network in Ross (near the Hildersley roundabout) yesterday afternoon."The damage, which affected drinking water supplies to around 600 properties, was fixed by 7pm last night (Sunday, April 7th) and the water supply was returned to normal."

It seemed like a normal Sunday afternoon in Ross and the general manager of the Ross Gazette was enjoying a relaxing afternoon away from the office when she received a call from the fire service.

Charlotte Reynolds was astonished when she was told that there was water dripping from the Gazette office into the charity shop below. She hurried to the building to discover that water was literally pouring down the walls, the windows and from the light fittings. She rushed to move the computers and the fire crew turned off the water supply and the electrics. Welsh Water was contacted and Charlotte was informed that there had been a problem with the mains, which had caused fluctuations in water pressure.

Contacting staff on Sunday evening Charlotte was very concerned that work on this issue of the paper would be delayed. However, thanks to the local contractors she contacted, Techniplumb and Cutter Electrical, arriving first thing on Monday morning, by 9.30am the office was ready for work as usual. Carpet Cleaning Herefordshire has also been very helpful using industrial pumps to suck up water from the carpets and dehumidifiers should complete the process this week.

Several other properties were affected by this incident including the Crown and Sceptre and of course the Sue Ryder charity shop. The manageress was very grateful that the shop was open on Sunday and they were able to deal with the leak as it happened.

Anyone who witnessed any suspicious activity near the roundabout at Hildersley, or saw anyone wearing high visibility jackets, and who may have appeared genuine at the time, is asked to call the police on 101.