Guildhall Street Left Soaked for a Week After Burglary Strips Pipes

A city centre street in Preston was left heavily waterlogged for over a week after thieves broke into a vacant commercial property and stripped its copper plumbing pipes.

The burglary, which occurred around May 28, 2025, targeted a retail unit near Guildhall Street. The offenders gained entry to the premises and systematically removed the copper piping, causing a severe mains water leak. Because the property was unoccupied at the time, the breach went unnoticed for several days while thousands of gallons of water poured from the damaged pipes, eventually seeping through the walls and flooding the pavement and road surface of Guildhall Street.

Local business owners and pedestrians expressed anger over the slow response to resolve the flooding, which left parts of the busy street soaked and created hazardous conditions for shoppers. Pedestrians were forced to navigate large puddles, while nearby cafes and offices complained of damp conditions and water pooling near their entrances. The leak was eventually shut off by United Utilities after engineers identified the source within the locked commercial building.

Lancashire Constabulary has launched an investigation into the burglary and lead/copper theft. Metal theft remains a persistent issue in the region, with vacant commercial buildings frequently targeted for their raw materials. Business owners in the city centre are being urged to ensure their properties are secure and to report any suspicious activity or unexplained water leaks to the authorities immediately.