A cutting-edge scheme to prevent sewage leaks before they happen is to be trialled in Huddersfield.

Yorkshire Water is testing a system which predicts where sewage pipes are going to crack, leak or burst.

Pipes below Denby Dale, Clayton West, Thunderbridge, Shepley and Kirkburton have been tested to prevent sewage escaping in at-risk areas.

Analysts at the company have used historical data to create a system which monitors the weather and sounds an alert when conditions create the ‘perfect storm’ for sewage leaks.

Analysis revealed that dry weather, which reduces the flow in sewers, increases deposition which when followed by a spell of wet weather, greatly increases the risk of a blockage and subsequent pollution.

The company will use this trigger to proactively flush pipes in the region’s most at-risk pollution hotspots, preventing pollution incidents and potentially saving scores of outbreaks each year.

When the company’s system spots threatening weather on the horizon, teams are dispatched to the hotspots to clear blockages before it rains.

The work is part of Yorkshire Water’s £300m campaign for reducing sewage pollution over the next five years.

James Harrison, technical sewerage manager for Yorkshire Water, said: “Taking care of the environment is absolutely crucial to our business and that’s why we wanted to try and develop a new approach to minimising sewage pollution.

“Rather than being on the back foot, preventing the problem from occurring in the first place is a far more efficient way of working and we’re already starting to see the results with numerous potential incidents being prevented.”

Sewage pollution is a serious issue for water companies across the UK.

When untreated foul water escapes into becks, rivers and seawater it damaging water quality and local wildlife.

But traditionally it has been tackled after the leak has already occurred.

If the scheme succeeds it will be rolled out across Yorkshire.