BRADFORD’S Mirror Pool will be out of action for some time after investigations have found “extensive damage” to the fountains system following a “major burst pipe”.

The water feature in City Park, which attracts crowds of visitors in warmer weather, has been switched off for the last three weeks following the burst pipe which caused damage to the pump room and equipment housed underneath the pavilion building.

Bradford Council tweeted yesterday that the initial investigation had taken place and revealed extensive damage to the system that runs the Mirror Pool’s fountains – and the attraction would be left dry for some time to come.

Barriers went up around parts of the pool yesterday, although this may be connected to the routine maintenance the Council said it would carry out while the pool is out of action.

The Council provided the latest update yesterday, stating on Twitter: “Update: Initial investigations have revealed extensive damage to the fountains system.

“We are exploring potential solutions but unfortunately the mirror pool will be out of action for some time. We are doing everything we can to get it repaired as quickly as possible.”

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Owners of The Cake’ole tea rooms, which opened last month in the pavilion building on the edge of the Mirror Pool, have told how the drama unfolded.

Neil Senior said he had gone to open up on the Sunday before Easter and had been alerted by an alarm coming from the pump room and the sound of rushing water.

He added that the warden was already on site and it was immediately obvious that the pump room was filling up with water and that there had been a serious burst.

Their water was only off briefly, he added, allowing them to open to customers as normal.

As for the effect on trade of a dry Mirror Pool, he said: “We’ve been busy since we opened last month, despite the Mirror Pool not being open. We’ve never actually experienced that busy City Park atmosphere as yet.”

Initially the Council indicated that the Mirror Pool was out of action due to a major pipe burst, which had caused some damage in the pump room. This would take some time to fix, it stated, and they would carry out routine maintenance.

A few days later the Council indicated there was no update on when the fountains would be up and running again, other than to say that work was still ongoing to make repairs.

A week and a half ago the authority outlined how it was continuing to investigate the cause of the problem and was awaiting detailed reports to identify what works were needed.

Once they had received the “specialist input” they would be able to commission the necessary work and get it back working as soon as possible, the Council added.

But three weeks since the burst, there is still no indication of when the popular attraction will be back up and running. It is not known whether the Mirror Pool will be working in time for the upcoming May half term, or the summer holidays starting in July.

The Council has apologised for the inconvenience caused.