The bath that leaked petrol!
By Paul Tyrrell.
Pensioners Bill and Edie Ithell thought they had struck it lucky when they found their bath was leaking… petrol! But the couple’s hopes of having their own private fuel tap in their bathroom have been dashed by fire chiefs, who say it was a million-to-one fluke. Despite an hour-long search, firemen are still baffled about where the mystery leak came from.
Bill, 61, smelled petrol in the couple’s bungalow in Rosstherne Avenue, Ellesmere Port. He called the fire brigade, who traced the fumes to the couple’s bath overflow. Bill said: “I suffer from breathing problems and the fumes were so strong they were making me worse. The fire brigade, police and somebody from the council were all really helpful and managed to find where the fumes were coming out of the bathroom. But nobody can find out where the leak is coming from.”
A fire brigade spokesman said “We found traces of petrol in the bath. We searched the area outside the house to see if we could find where the leak originated. We also asked at a nearby petrol station if they had any problems. We haven’t been able to find the source. It is still a mystery, but it is unlikely Mr Ithell will have the problem again.”
Bill added: “If we had found petrol on tap, it would be no use to us because we don’t drive!”
Liverpool Echo, 23rd November 1988.