“COMPLEX” repair work will be taking place this week in Bradford city centre after a burst water main which “could have cost millions” to fix was spotted in the basement of a bank.

Engineers were called in by Barclays to its branch on the corner of Market Street and Kirkgate in Bradford city centre yesterday after a leak was spotted in the basement.

Following an inspection, they called out Yorkshire Water, which has said “ongoing complex repairs” are taking place to fix the leak.

The work has involved digging three metres down below the street surface, and reinforcements have had to be put in place to make the site safe.

Specialist cutting equipment will also be needed due to the water pressure in the pipe.

Brad Sudell, from ISS Technical Services, and his colleague Sean Kerry were called out to the branch to check the basement and try and find the cause of the leak.

Mr Sudell said: “We’re an air conditioning firm and look after Barclays branches, and about four weeks ago they had a water leak in the basement.

“It was getting worse and worse and the cause couldn’t be found, so we had to call out Yorkshire Water to see if had anything to do with them.

“They turned up and said they had something similar at the top of town about two years ago with a burst water main which cost millions of pounds to fix.

“They thanked us for bringing it to their attention because it could have been a lot worse.

“Apparently the pipes are from the 1850s, so they have been in use for quite a while.

“We just want to make other businesses aware that if they have a leak in their basement to get it looked at before it’s too late, in case its another situation like this one.”

Mr Sudell added he and Mr Kerry would still be on site at Barclays carrying out work to deal with damage from the leak in the basement.

The bank remained open to customers despite the work.

Diggers and demolition vehicles were on site in Kirkgate yesterday, where a large cordon had been erected in the entrance to the street, with traffic having to be diverted.

A spokesperson for Yorkshire Water said: “A burst occurred last week on one of our trunk water mains on Kirkgate near Barclays Bank.

“It has led to a partial closure along Kirkgate with a traffic diversion in place whilst we carry out the repairs.

“These are ongoing complex repairs, as the pipe is over three metres deep and the hole we have had to dig requires reinforcing to make it safe to work in.

“Specialist cutting equipment is also required as it is a high pressure trunk main. We hope to have the repairs completed and the road turned to normal by early next week.”