Pontycymer residents face legal action if they don’t pay for their water pipes.

Residents have been told they could face legal action if they don’t pay thousands of pounds to fix a water pipe outside their homes.

Residents of five homes in Bridgend, Pontycymer, have been told they will need to repair a leak in a common water pipe from Welsh Water at their own expense, costing more than £7,000 each.

Garw Valley residents have been left with sleepless nights by claiming their insurance companies have been given no evidence of where the leak lies, which they need to cover the cost.

A Welsh Water spokesman said the pipeline was not owned or managed by them and was the responsibility of property owners, but they had offered to cover some of the costs.

The team has been given until the end of July to resolve the issue or face legal action.

They said the estimated cost would be more than £7,000 to replace the rear water pipe with a new pipe at the front of the row in their garden.

Resident Nerys Walters said the dispute has caused her a great deal of stress over the past two years.

She said she initially thought insurance might cover the cost of repairs, but because there was no evidence the leak had been repaired, insurers said they wouldn’t pay.

“It’s a nightmare for all of us,” Walters said.

“Welsh Water said they would pay for a new line running across the front of the property, but we would have to cover the cost of it going in from the front door and through the house to the back stoop.

Walters said she had spoken to “several contractors” who had quoted residents more than £1,000 per meter for the work.

“This has been going on for a year and a half now and since then we have been asking for that evidence but nothing has been given to us,” she said.

“There’s no evidence of a leak, and it’s not up to us why they’ve taken other pipes down the street. Everyone’s deadline has passed. It was very serious and we want it fixed.”