YORKSHIRE Water is urging all its customers to wrap up well this winter and protect their pipes and property from frost.
Each year, following a cold snap like the current one, the water company receives hundreds of calls from businesses and homeowners which have become victims of flooding caused by cracked pipes.
Frozen water in pipes expands, often causing them to rupture once a thaw sets in.
Yorkshire Water urges householders to start checking the lagging around pipework, cisterns and tanks in unheated areas of the house in order to take the appropriate action.
Businesses - especially those left empty over the festive period - also need to take action.
Also, youngsters across the region often have extended Christmas holidays because their schools suffer from cracked pipes at the start of term.
Yorkshire Water conservation manager Clare Dunlop said: "We are doing all we can to prevent leakage from our network of pipes.
"What we are doing is asking customers to support us and do their bit in the home and at work.
"Simple measures - such as insulating pipework and storage tanks, providing appropriate heating or draining down exposed pipes which will not be used for prolonged periods - will help to avoid frost damage."
