Thames Water has issued an apology for not fixing a sewer vent pole before the column snapped in half on a street in Neasden.

Twitter user Kimbroolay sent the water giant a picture of a long metal pole which snapped in Vicarage Way on January 24.

She claimed Thames Water had been alerted to the rusty pole a year ago and that it had narrowly missed a pedestrian.

@k1mbo999 said: “This gas pole was reported a year ago regarding the rust & potential risk of falling! But nothing was done.

Today it fell down, narrowly missing a woman! Was reported this morning and it’s still in the same position this evening.”

A spokesman for Thames Water said the pole had now been “fully disposed of” adding: “The vent column is no longer in service and we were looking into removing it before it fell down.

“We’re sorry that didn’t happen as soon as it should have, and we’ve now removed it completely.”