A HOMEOWNER has been left with thousands of pounds of damage to his home after it was flooded when a major water main burst in Mickleover.
Stefan Czuplak said he believes the extensive damage will take a year to repair.
Around 4,000 properties were left without water after the pipe burst in Station Road in the early hours of yesterday.
The burst caused a torrent of water to cascade downhill and it flooded into Mr Czuplak's home, 100 yards away.
Mr Czuplak, 64, who lives at the detached home with his wife, Maria, said every downstairs room had been affected.
He said: "We're very upset.It's terrible and will affect our life for the next year.
"Our quality of life has gone. We feel gutted. It will take a lot of time for things to get better.
"All the floors may have to be lifted and I expect it to cost thousands of pounds in total. We feel very numb and really upset."
Mr Czuplak said that he was woken early some time after 4.30am by an unusual noise.
He said: "There was a very loud noise which I thought was the fish-tank. But it was much louder and it started gurgling. I got downstairs and it was obvious the drains could not cope.
"The water was running all the way down the house.
"It was coming through the front door. I was imagining the worst and it was very shocking.
"I did not know what was going on. The water was all over the place.
"It's all in the front passage and in the kitchen and the walls. The living room is soaked. I can't believe what has happened."
He said contractors from Severn Trent visited the house throughout the day to asses the damage.
A Severn Trent spokesman said: "We would like to apologise to anyone who was affected by the burst water pipe on Station Road, particularly to Mr Czuplak.
"Our insurers visited Mr Czuplak at 7.30am on Monday and are working to help him claim for any damage our burst water pipe caused at his home.
"By their very nature, we don't know when pipes will burst but what we can do is work as quickly as possible to get things back to normal for our customers."
One business hit by the burst main was the Great Northern pub, which was forced to closed because it had no water.
Manager Stephanie Mellor said the closure had cost about £2,000 in lost trade.
The 30-year-old, who lives at the pub in Station Road, said: "We cannot open without water. It is very awkward and annoying for us."
The loss of water also caused Derby High School in Littleover to close and it also caused problems for many people living in the DE3 and DE23 postcodes.
Severn Trent said that the supply returned at about 10am.
