On call 24/7 to tackle pipes and blocked drains this Christmas
For grandfather-of-four Gary Cooper, working on Christmas Day is not unusual – he has had to work the shift many times in his 36-year career with Severn Trent Water.
The 57-year-old team manager, who covers Dudley, Great Barr and Kidderminster, will be on-call on Christmas Day to deal with emergencies.
Last year, when people were tucked up in their beds in the early hours of Christmas morning he was called out at 2am to fix a burst pipe in Kidderminster which had cut off water supplies to about 75 properties.
Mr Cooper said: "I've worked on Christmas Day many times in the 36 years I've worked for Severn Trent Water.
"Last year I was called out at 2am on Christmas morning to fix a burst pipe which had cut off water supplies. It was under a customer's fence line.
"We know how important it is for our customers to have water on Christmas Day. How else will they cook the sprouts? So that's what matters most to us.
"We had to repair it as quickly as possible and we got the water back on by midday.
"If we are not called out, I have Christmas dinner and open presents as normal. Last year I opened presents when I got back in the afternoon."
He said despite sometimes having to be called away from his family, it was nice to rescue residents from a crisis and receive their thanks.
Mr Cooper, of Shustoke, Warwickshire, who leads a seven-strong team, said: "It's great when customers are thankful.
"They realise the guys are doing their best. They sometimes pop out with tea and biscuits to keep the guys going.
"When things like this happen everyone comes together and makes the best of a bad situation.
"It is not great being away from home and my own family on Christmas Day, but we do take it in turns to be the one working. At the end of the day, when you're the one at work, our customers come first.
"Boxing Day and New Year's Day will be a normal day for us."
Severn Trent Water customer service centre manager Natallie Welch (corr) added: "We'd like to reassure our customers that we're here to help with any water or sewage issues that happen over Christmas.
"We're a twenty-four-seven business and we work all day and all night, every day of the year, including Christmas Day.
"We have people in our call centres and field teams ready to fix bursts and clear sewer blockages.
"We're also ready to deal with any flooding that we may get due to bad weather.
"We want to make sure that our customers get the same great service all day every day.
"So if you have an urgent water or sewage issue at any time, but especially over Christmas, we'll be here, waiting to deal with it. Please do give us a call on 0800 783 4444 and we'll be happy to help."
