THE people of Silverdale have been told to flush the toilet before they boil the kettle for a cup of tea!

That's because many homes in the picturesque village are served by outdated lead water pipes which contaminate the water.

North West Water have advised residents to flush their lavatories before filling the kettle for their morning cup of tea so the water stewing in the pipes overnight is flushed away.

The company have changed the pipes for many homes after individuals have made their own specific complaints - but they are not converting them all as a matter of policy.

One resident of the village Prof. Peter Yates of Shaw Road, is a pathologist and has examined the origin and manifestation of disease. He explained why he considered the lead piping was potentially dangerous: "I would say to anybody who has infants they shouldn't prepare bottles for them. "I would say to parents of babies not breast feeding to be careful.

"For normal adults it's not a problem but for the very young it could be. People tend to think about these matters in terms of overnight but there's the people who go the Costa Brava for a fortnight and then prepare something for an infant. There's also the fact that some of the pipes can much longer than the standard. Are they thinking of that?

"I think North West Water should have told us about this."

A North West Water information sheet sent to residents advised flushing the toilet before drinking water in the morning. It stated: "If you have lead pipes which you are unable to replace for a while it is worth knowing the water which has stood overnight in a lead pipe will have a lead concentration approximately double the normal.

"Avoid drinking the first litres of water by showering or flushing the toilet before you fill the kettle for your morning drink."

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