Yorkshire Water has been inundated with thousands of emergency calls from the public who mistakenly believe it is responsible for leaks inside their homes.

The misplaced calls have stopped legitimate pleas for help with burst water mains getting through, according to the Bradford-based firm.

Since the big freeze hit the county, its engineers have dealt with hundreds of burst mains in the road.

The company has drafted in extra staff to cope and its field workers have responded to 1004 reported burst mains pipes and repaired 291 in three days this week as a direct result of falling temperatures.

But staff at its call-centre in Thornbury have been over-run with thousands of emergency calls from distraught householders - many of whom have burst pipes inside their homes.

A Yorkshire Water spokes-man said the company is not responsible for any leaks on private property, and that the sheer of volume of calls stopped other callers from getting help.

"Since the frosts began we've taken more than 9,000 calls, which is twice the normal amount we get at this time of year," the spokesman said.

"Of these 4,500 extra calls, two out of every three were from people who were suffering internal pipe freezing which is not the responsibility of Yorkshire Water.

"The message we are trying to get across is that before you ring our emergency helpline, check with your next-door neighbours to see if their supply is affected as well.

"If it is then the problem is more likely to be with the mains supply which is the responsibility of Yorkshire Water.

"But if it is only your supply which is faulty then it's likely to be the responsibility of the householder and will have to be repaired privately by a plumber."

Janet Booth, 51, is pictured sitting in the flooded kitchen of her neighbour's house in Clayton after an 18-inch mains burst in Low Lane and sent tens of thousands of gallons of water cascading into the property.

But owners Denise and Barry Christy will not have to pay for the repairs as the burst was on a mains supply in the public highway and Yorkshire Water has agreed to cover any insurance costs.

For a private plumber call the Institute of Plumbing on (01708) 472791.

The Yorkshire Water helpline is 0845 1242424.