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LIVERPOOL woman is waging a battle against a water company after claiming her toddler son was injured by hazardous pipes it installed in her home. Jennifer Hannah says her 19-month-old son Alfie gashed his head after she tripped over the pipes on the staircase of her Old Swan home while carrying him. She says the accident is the latest in a string of complaints since the pipes were installed in April by United Utilities contractors. Ms Hannah, 27, a supermarket customer advisor, says her problems started when a neighbour four doors away from her Southgate Road home had a water leak. She was told by the water company that the leak had come from her main water supply and that new pipes would have to be installed. She said: "The workmen came in and tore my skirting boards off, even throwing some of them away and replacing them with roughedged skirting boards. They also ripped the wallpaper and destroyed my carpets. "They laid pipes under the carpet on the staircase but because of the way it has been done the carpet does not lie flat. "It was while walking up the stairs with Alfie in my arms that I tripped over and he banged his head on the wall, gashing it, and had to have seven stitches. "It is very unsafe. The pipes are all around the house and because they are above the floorboards rather than under them Alfie is always tugging at them. "I contacted a builder to ask how much it would cost to get the pipes replaced and I was told £1,200. But he said there was no reason why it couldn't have been done properly in the first place. "I contacted United Utilities and they told me it was the fault of the contractors who carried out the work. The contractors told me it was nothing to do with them and I should contact United Utilities." A spokesman for United Utilities said: "The pipe that burst was Mrs Hannah's own private supply pipe and she was responsible for making the repair. When she explained her personal circumstances we did our best, as a goodwill gesture, to provide her with a new supply from the water main. "We will go back to the property to check the quality of work and if it is unsafe we will rectify it."
Arthur