What to do next about burst pipe / water leak?

[Difficultyear2015]

We completed on our house on Saturday and found the boiler wasn't working so have been trying to get an engineer out over the weekend.

Engineer comes out today and turns out the boiler doesn't work because of low pressure.

Turns out that there is now water coming up from underneath the driveway at the front of the house along the border with next door.

Gas engineer got boiler working but said if it goes off because of low pressure we would struggle to get it on again and the low pressure is due to the mains leaking.

(There hasn't been any visible leak previously but the house has been empty)

I have spoken to the water board who said they would come out over the next day or two but I have been told by people over hearing my conversation that the water company won't touch it as it's not on public land and we will have to get a plumber to come out and take the drive up and fix the leak.

Can anyone give any advise?

I luckily bought insurance just before completion but we haven't been able to move in because the heating hasn't worked so the house is currently unoccupied

You should be able to turn the supply to the house off via a stopcock in the pavement outside. This will stop more water damaging the drive (you could end up with it or part of the garden sinking). Is there accidental damage cover included in your insurance? If so, you can try the insurance company and see if they'll cover the escape of water for you.

It's probably an old lead pipe which has split - may have started leaking slightly, then when you've turned on taps and more is going through, the hole or split has got bigger. Anyway, fixing that is the priority.

My water company will fix your first leak for free and they will fix it and bill you if its leaked before (and on your land).

There is a statutory requirement for you to fix it but as I said they can do the work and send you the bill. You may need to pay for it yourself and claim it back from your insurance company as they only give you 14 days to pay in full and your insurance may not pay out for 30+ days.

have you got a water meter?

I think that, if it's a shared supply, the waterboard is responsible. I know that it's that way for the drains.
If not then, as fudge said.