A ROAD in Whalley was flooded yesturday after a fire hydrant was removed by vandals.

More than eight inches of water flooded Manor Road and engineers worked to repair the damage.

Unitied Utilities have warned against tampering with fire hydrants because of the safety risks involved.

The flooding started at around noon and was cleared shortly after 3pm.

John Martin from United Utilities said: "Fire hydrant abuse is wrongly seen by many as a bit of harmless fun but it’s dangerous, costly and wasteful of a precious resource.

“When you tot up the cost of hours worked, repairs to hydrants and the water that ends up down the drain, the bill can quickly run into thousands of pounds for these incidents.

“Those responsible for vandalism of hydrants are not only putting themselves at risk of injury from highly pressurised water, they are impacting on our ability to keep flows and pressures to homes, businesses, local hospitals and vulnerable customers.”