Property owners are being warned by NI Water to be extra vigilant and secure their premises due to the current cold weather period.

The company has provided the following tips in order to cope with the recent bad weather;

• Wrap up pipes and water tanks with lagging

• Fix dripping taps – even a small trickle can result in a frozen pipe

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• If it is safe to do so, check empty properties over the weekend for burst pipes

• Find your property’s stop valve and make sure you can turn it off – in large buildings there may be more than one, make sure they are all working and can be turned off if needed

• Leave the heating on low if the building is going to close for a few days

In addition, the weather is having an impact on NI Water's response times to customers.

"Due to road conditions in some areas, customer response times by our crews on the ground may take longer than usual today," the company said.

"We appreciate your patience."

(LM/MH)