Swathes of New Malden could disappear underwater at any time because a water pipe supplying much of the area has “zero” life expectancy, the Surrey Comet has learned.

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Thames Water’s pressurised water supply, contained in four major pipes, runs beneath the district and encircles the capital.

The danger of catastrophic flooding was discovered during design work on the mini-Holland cycle project, because the pipes lie directly under the proposed New Malden to Raynes Park link.

Beverley ward Councillor Terry Paton said: “Some of the pipes go way back beyond Victorian times and it is a worry at the moment that the pipes are sitting there in such a bad state.

“Thames Water has to get moving on this. We don’t want to be flooding again.”

A burst main flooded New Malden High Street last month to a depth of several feet, damaging property near the railway station.

Of the four pipes, one is at the end of its life, one has at most 10 years left, and the other two are yet to be assessed, Coun Paton added.

Together the pipes supply some 700,000 homes.

On Monday a crisis meeting was held between Thames Water, Kingston Council and London cycling czar Andrew Gilligan.

The water supplier had previously demanded nearly the entire £1.9m mini-Holland phase two budget to cover repair costs and pay for an investigation into potential damage from works.

Councillors claimed the expense would have “killed” that part of the flagship scheme.

Councillor Richard Hudson said: “Thames Water are going to cover the cost of [repair] works and are going to start work as soon as they possibly can because they are in serious danger of flooding.”

A Thames Water spokeswoman said: “Surveys showed work to strengthen the pipes should be brought forward to reduce the risk of future bursts.

“It would be hard to say at this point how long the work would take."

The proposed New Malden to Raynes Park link is also designated as a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC) and residents have expressed concerns about the cycle works destroying local wildlife.

A 677 signature petition against the link was handed to full council last week.

Raynes Park resident Olivia Cooper said: “The cycle highway would destroy the major part of this SINC and Green Corridor which as a wildlife haven has provided habitat for numerous endangered species. Residents want the area to be left as a green zone.”

Coun Hudson said that now the project was out of immediate financial difficulty it was important to get the public behind it.

He said: “I know that there are concerns about the wildlife in the area and we will have to work with Thames Water around that in the beginning."

Coun Patton added: "There is a worry about disturbance to wildlife. Clearly to replace those pipes there will be a lot of disturbance.

"We need to ensure that is kept to a minimum."