She handed him a folded check and a custard cream. “Thank you, love. You’re a lifesaver.”
Frank grunted. Roots. The word was a curse in Wakefield. The city’s old Victorian clay pipes were a labyrinth beneath the streets, and the sycamore and willow trees that lined the avenues had a malicious sense of direction. They could smell the warm, nutrient-rich water leaking through a hairline crack from fifty feet away. drain root cutting wakefield
He fed the electric eel into the pipe. The machine hummed, then growled as the blades bit into the root mass. He felt the vibration through the rubber grips—a juddering, tearing sensation as the cutter spun at high speed. Grrrnd-chunk, grrrnd-chunk. It was an ugly sound, the noise of violent surgery. Shredded root fragments, looking like shredded coconut, began to flush back past the manhole. He worked methodically, pushing the cable further, clearing a path inch by inch. The pipe was old, fragile. If he pushed too hard, he could shatter the clay and create a bigger problem. Too gentle, and the roots would regrow in a month. She handed him a folded check and a custard cream