It's no Gyles Brandreth anecdote but the basic story was that we were having a new kitchen fitted over Christmas. We weren't living there but I was popping in regularly to check the progress.
They had fitted the pipe to supply the sink but had just sealed the end while waiting for delivery of said sink which had been delayed because of Christmas. The fitters had not turned off the stopcock.
We had a freeze and thaw that popped off the seal on the pipe. Fortunately, I went over on Boxing Day, only to find the entire ground floor inches deep in water.
I was not happy.
