A BUSINESSMAN is seeking £175,000 in compensation after routine work by Yorkshire Water flooded his factory.

Richard Lee, 31, who runs Inside Out Bespoke Joinery in Red Doles Lane, Huddersfield, told how the blunder put his firm’s future at risk.

Mr Lee, who set up the firm with his wife’s uncle, Vincent McKenna, in 2008, said an engineer from Yorkshire Water sub-contractor, H20, turned up unannounced on August 25 to replace the meter.

As a result of the work there was a burst and the engineer struggled for two-and-a-half hours to find the stop cock.

By the time the water was turned off, the factory was under five inches of water, ruining stock and products and putting the firm out of action for a week.

Now dad-of-two Mr Lee is seeking compensation and said: “This could finish us.

“It’s not just Vincent and I. We employ 10 men and they all rely on us for their livelihoods.”

The firm started as a two-man operation from a garage in Milnsbridge. It makes bespoke furniture and other products for the domestic and commercial markets.

Mr Lee was told a loss adjustor from H20’s insurers would be sent out the following day.

He said he was repeatedly promised a visit over several days but it took a week before the adjustor turned up to assess the damage.

Now Mr Lee claims Yorkshire Water and H20 are haggling over which of them is responsible.

“It’s just outrageous,” said Mr Lee, who joined forces with 52-year-old Mr McKenna after both were made redundant three years ago.

“We are a small firm who have battled through the recession, employing local people and to have our business put at risk through someone else’s doing is very stressful.”

Mr Lee struck out on his own when his son, Carney, was just six-months-old and his wife Adele was pregnant with second son Casey.

He added: “We have worked seven days a week, day and night, to make a success of this business and we had just seen some signs of improvement, then you get kicked straight back down.”

Mr Lee estimated his losses at £175,000 in lost production, missed deadlines, destroyed products and stock and clean-up costs.

A spokesman for Yorkshire Water said: “We would like to apologise to Mr Lee for the problems experienced following the meter change and the fact this was doneunannounced.

“Our insurance company is currently investigating this incident and are unable to comment further at this point regarding any compensation.”