Yahoo News Fed-up businessman comes up with 'quackers' idea to get Yorkshire Water to fix leak
A fed-up business owner came up with a quackers idea to get a water company to fix a leaking pipe - by dropping 200 rubber ducks into the huge puddle it had created.
Dean Majors, 55, said he spent weeks trying to get Yorkshire Water to address the problem near his building, which later created a massive “infinity pool”. And after the property in Skipton, North Yorkshire, suffered flood damage, he dumped the bright yellow ducks in the water to show off the scale of the problem.
Dean shared hilarious photos of the toys floating down the 15ft long puddle on social media - which caught the eye of the water company on X, formerly Twitter.
He was thrilled when their representatives got in touch straight away to check his address before sending workers to fix the issue the next day.
Dean said: “The leak had been bubbling away like a little geyser. I even put a dolls house and all sorts out on it – you know, ‘Come and visit Skipton’s newest attraction. I’ve also had a mop bucket with a manikin in it, just to try and get people’s attention, mainly Yorkshire Water’s.
“But they were pretty quick on this one because somebody’s put it on Twitter. Yorkshire Water responded straight away with, ‘That is quakers!’
“We sent them the address and they had a guy here the following morning."
A spokesperson from Yorkshire Water said they had put plans in place to repair the leak prior to the photos of the ducks in the puddle emerging.
Dean, a massage therapist who runs The Backman clinic, said he had been plagued with issues opposite his road due to leaking pipes since around 2020. But he said the most recent problem worsened about four weeks ago when he noticed more water ‘bubbling’ up from the surface of the heavily potholed tarmac.
Dean said he lodged a complaint with Yorkshire Water a week later, as the issue grew more severe, requesting an engineer to carry out repairs. But on May 10, his shop was left with water damage, which forced him to close for three days and spend around £200 to fix it.
He said heavy rain later turned the puddle into an “infinity pool”, and he then borrowed 200 ducks from a local organizer to reveal the scale of the problem.
Dean said: “They throw the ducks over the bridge every year and the kids have to find them, so I messaged him and I said ‘Can I borrow some of your ducks?’ He said, ‘How many?’ I said ‘200 will do’. I had them all laid out down it, and then I put my massage bed in the middle.”
“At least by doing something a bit lighthearted, it got them to realise it was quite serious. It’s not just the water leak, it’s everything that comes off that and affects the structure of the road outside. There’s a carpark just the other side of us and it’s flooded in muddy water.”
Dean said after the workmen fixed the leak on Wednesday, May 15, locals were thrilled with how he had brought the issue to light.
He added: “People loved it… I’ve had a lot of people come to thank me for getting the water tap fixed. It’s been an issue and they’ve had to cross the roads to get around it."
A spokesperson from Yorkshire Water said: “We understand that leaks can be frustrating and apologise for any impact caused. Our team was unable to repair the leak when they attended initially due to restricted access and cars parked in the area.
“Our teams attended the following day and completed a repair. We'd like to thank our customers for their patience while we worked to resolve the issue.”
