Wessex Water stated the technique significantly reduced the amount of time it would have taken to carry out the work using traditional methods on the 630 m of sewer.

Wessex Water Senior Engineer Julian Britton, who oversaw the scheme, said the sewers were now safeguarded for around 100 years.

"Lining the sewers, rather than replacing them, meant we didn't have to excavate long sections of the road which would have taken around three months and caused serious disruption to the local community and motorists," Mr Britton said.

Wessex Water said the scope of the relining the work was completed within nine days.

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In Dulverton, UK, Wessex Water is currently half-way through a £500k scheme to replace 4.8 km of water mains using pipe-bursting.

Some of the mains date back to the 1920s and have often led to discolouration of customers' water supply.

Wessex Water Project Manager Tony Shead said "A pipe bursting method is being used to replace the pipes, which is the process of inserting a new main within an existing pipe. The method greatly reduces the overall duration required for the work."

Work began 17 October in the centre of the town and is expected to last for two weeks. Water mains will then be replaced in Lady Street.

Meanwhile, work in Burnham-on-Sea to repair a collapsed sewer using a specialist liner is nearing completion.

Wessex Water has been working for a number of weeks to repair the sewer in Berrow Road, but following a series of excavations it was revealed that the pipe was more severely damaged than first thought.

Rather than replacing the damaged sewer, the company decided to reline it using a specialist liner that is being imported from the continent.

“We are aware of the impact that the Berrow Road closure is having on the local community and motorists and have therefore explored alternative ways to carry out the repairs,” a Wessex Water spokesman said.

“By relining the sewer we will be able to complete our work sooner while at the same time extend the life of the pipe for around 100 years.”

Work started 20 October 2011 to insert the liner inside the sewer. Once the work is completed the road will be resurfaced.