Leak detection coverage by town and postcode district

Red Rose Leak Detection covers 260 postcode districts in 15 postcode areas across Greater Manchester, Merseyside, Lancashire, Cheshire and Cumbria; Manchester, Liverpool, Bolton, Preston and Chester have their own pages, and the rest of the covered towns and districts are listed below.

Does your town have its own leak detection page?

Five towns have their own page: Manchester (with Salford), Liverpool (with Bootle, Prescot and Ormskirk), Bolton (with Bury), Preston (with Chorley and Leyland) and Chester (with Neston and Ellesmere Port).

Stockport, Warrington, Wigan, Oldham, Blackburn, Blackpool, Lancaster, Carlisle and Crewe have no page of their own; their districts are in the lists further down, under the postcode area each one belongs to.

Which postcode areas and counties are covered?

The coverage spans 15 postcode areas, each listed below with its name, the counties its districts sit in and its number of covered districts.

Diagram: postcode areas covered by Red Rose Leak Detection, each tile sized by the number of its districts listed below. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026. Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v.3.0.
Postcode areas covered, with the counties their districts sit in
AreaArea nameCountiesCovered districts
MManchesterGreater Manchester42
LLiverpoolMerseyside, Lancashire40
WAWarringtonCheshire, Merseyside, Greater Manchester16
CHChesterCheshire, Merseyside20
PRPrestonLancashire, Merseyside11
SKStockportGreater Manchester, Cheshire14
BBBlackburnLancashire13
OLOldhamGreater Manchester, Lancashire15
BLBoltonGreater Manchester10
LALancasterLancashire, Cumbria23
CACarlisleCumbria28
WNWiganGreater Manchester, Lancashire8
CWCreweCheshire11
FYBlackpoolLancashire8
SYMalpasCheshire1

Each area keeps the name Royal Mail gives it, except SY: its official name, Shrewsbury, lies outside the coverage, so the area is named after Malpas, its only covered town. CH carries the name Chester although Wirral is its largest covered post town.

Which postcode districts are covered in each area?

Every covered district is listed below by postcode area and post town, from M1 in Manchester to SY14 in Malpas.

M Manchester

Manchester
M1, M2, M4, M8, M9, M11, M12, M13, M14, M15, M16, M17, M18, M19, M20, M21, M22, M23, M24, M25, M26, M27, M28, M29, M30, M31, M32, M33, M34, M35, M38, M40, M41, M43, M44, M45, M46
Manchester, Salford
M3
Salford
M5, M6, M7, M50

L Liverpool

Liverpool
L1, L2, L3, L4, L5, L6, L7, L8, L9, L10, L11, L12, L13, L14, L15, L16, L17, L18, L19, L21, L22, L23, L24, L25, L26, L27, L28, L29, L31, L32, L33, L36, L37, L38
Liverpool, Bootle
L20
Bootle
L30
Prescot
L34, L35
Ormskirk
L39, L40

WA Warrington

Warrington
WA1, WA2, WA3, WA4, WA5
Frodsham
WA6
Runcorn
WA7
Widnes
WA8
St Helens
WA9, WA10, WA11
Newton-le-Willows
WA12
Lymm
WA13
Altrincham
WA14, WA15
Knutsford
WA16

CH Chester

Chester
CH1, CH2, CH3, CH4
Birkenhead
CH41, CH42
Prenton
CH43
Wallasey
CH44, CH45
Wirral
CH46, CH47, CH48, CH49, CH60, CH61, CH62, CH63
Neston
CH64
Ellesmere Port
CH65, CH66

PR Preston

Preston
PR1, PR2, PR3, PR4, PR5
Chorley
PR6, PR7
Southport
PR8, PR9
Leyland
PR25, PR26

SK Stockport

Stockport
SK1, SK2, SK3, SK4, SK5, SK6, SK7
Cheadle
SK8
Alderley Edge, Wilmslow
SK9
Macclesfield
SK10, SK11
Hyde
SK14
Stalybridge
SK15
Dukinfield
SK16

BB Blackburn

Blackburn
BB1, BB2, BB6
Darwen
BB3
Rossendale
BB4
Accrington
BB5
Clitheroe
BB7
Colne
BB8
Nelson
BB9
Burnley
BB10, BB11, BB12
Barnoldswick
BB18

OL Oldham

Oldham
OL1, OL2, OL3, OL4, OL8, OL9
Ashton-under-Lyne
OL5, OL6, OL7
Heywood
OL10
Rochdale
OL11, OL12
Bacup
OL13
Littleborough
OL15
Rochdale, Littleborough
OL16

BL Bolton

Bury
BL0, BL8, BL9
Bolton
BL1, BL2, BL3, BL4, BL5, BL6, BL7

LA Lancaster

Lancaster
LA1, LA2
Morecambe
LA3, LA4
Carnforth
LA5, LA6
Milnthorpe
LA7
Kendal
LA8, LA9
Sedbergh
LA10
Grange-over-Sands
LA11
Ulverston
LA12
Barrow-in-Furness
LA13
Barrow-in-Furness, Dalton-in-Furness
LA14
Dalton-in-Furness
LA15
Askam-in-Furness
LA16
Kirkby-in-Furness
LA17
Millom
LA18, LA19
Broughton-in-Furness
LA20
Coniston
LA21
Ambleside
LA22
Windermere
LA23

CA Carlisle

Carlisle
CA1, CA2, CA3, CA4, CA5, CA6
Wigton
CA7
Brampton
CA8
Alston
CA9
Penrith
CA10, CA11
Keswick
CA12
Cockermouth
CA13
Workington
CA14
Maryport
CA15
Appleby-in-Westmorland
CA16
Kirkby Stephen
CA17
Ravenglass
CA18
Holmrook
CA19
Seascale
CA20
Beckermet
CA21
Egremont
CA22
Cleator
CA23
Moor Row
CA24
Cleator Moor
CA25
Frizington
CA26
St Bees
CA27
Whitehaven
CA28

WN Wigan

Wigan
WN1, WN2, WN3, WN4, WN5, WN6
Leigh
WN7
Wigan, Skelmersdale
WN8

CW Crewe

Crewe
CW1, CW2, CW4
Nantwich
CW5
Tarporley
CW6
Winsford
CW7
Northwich
CW8, CW9
Middlewich
CW10
Sandbach
CW11
Congleton
CW12

FY Blackpool

Blackpool
FY1, FY2, FY3, FY4
Thornton-Cleveleys
FY5
Poulton-le-Fylde
FY6
Fleetwood
FY7
Lytham St Annes
FY8

SY Malpas

Malpas
SY14

Non-geographic districts, the 33 with no residents in the 2011 Census, are left off the list.

Which water company supplies each part of the coverage?

United Utilities supplies water to most of the coverage, in its own words “from Carlisle to Crewe”; Severn Trent supplies Chester city, water only; and Yorkshire Water supplies the area around Earby and the Craven villages of Bentham and Ingleton.

Water companies across the coverage, and where to report a leak on each one's pipes
CompanyDrinking water forA leak on its pipesA leak on the owner's pipe
United UtilitiesMost of the coverage, Ellesmere Port, Neston, Malpas and villages around Chester includedReport it on the Report a problem pageRead the Leaking supply pipe page
Severn TrentThe city of Chester, water onlyReport it through the Check my area pageContact Customer Leakage Support from the Your water supply page
Yorkshire WaterThe area around Earby, Barnoldswick by Yorkshire Water's own checker, and the Craven villages in LA2 and LA6, Bentham and Ingleton among themReport it on the Report a leak pageRead the Supply pipe leaks page

At a few rural edges of the coverage, Garsdale and upper Dentdale, Gilsland, Wincle, Mickle Trafford and Waverton among them, United Utilities provides wastewater only, and the drinking water supplier is not named here; United Utilities' postcode checker shows which services reach an address.

Whichever company supplies the water, its pipe stops near the property boundary and the supply pipe on the owner's side is the owner's to repair; the page on who repairs a leaking supply pipe covers that length.